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AN INQUIRY 



MEANING OF THE PROPHECIES 



RELATING TO THE 



SECOND ADVENT OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 



COURSE OF LECTURES, 



DELIVERED IN ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BALTIMORE, 



J. P. K. HENSHAW, D. D. 

RECTOR OF SAID CHURCH. 



BALTIMORE: 

PUBLISHED BY DANIEL BRUNNER. 

1842. 



O Lord Jesus Christ, who at thy first 

COMING DIDST SEND THY MESSENGER TO PREPARE 
THY WAY BEFORE THEE; GRANT THAT THE MINIS- 
TERS and Stewards of thy mysteries may like- 
wise SO PREPARE AND MAKE READY THY WAY, BY 
TURNING THE HEARTS OF THE DISOBEDIENT TO THE 
WISDOM OF THE JUST, THAT, AT THY SECOND COMING, 
TO JUDGE THE WORLD, WE MAY BE FOUND AN AC- 
CEPTABLE PEOPLE IN THY SIGHT, WHO LIVEST AND 
REIGNEST WITH THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, 
EVER ONE GOD, WORLD WITHOUT END. AMEN. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 18-12, by J. P. K 
Henshaw, in the Clerk's Olncc of the District Court of Maryland. 



Jiv. Robinson. Printer. 






The following Lectures, delivered in the ordinary 
course of parochial instructions, are now published to 
gratify the earnest desire of many who heard them, 
and in compliance with the recommendation of some 
valued clerical friends, whose advice was solicited. 

The views herein advocated are the same which 
were maintained by many of the earliest Fathers, 
and by some of the Reformers, and which have 
found powerful support in the writings of the learn- 
ed and pious Mede in the 17th century, and in those 
of Bickersteth, McNeile, Melvill, Dodsworth, Noeh 
and other distinguished divines of the Church of 
England in our own da}'. The object of the Author 
will be gained, if this humble inquiry shall have any 
influence in directing the attention of his clerical 
brethren to an important, but, it is to be feared, too 
much neglected branch of Biblical investigation, or 
in awakening the minds of Christian people to a 
livelier faith in, and a more diligent preparation for. 
the coming and kingdom of our Lord. 

Baltimore, March 2d, 1S42. 



CONTENTS. 



Pa« 



Lecture I. The Second Personal Coming of our Lord, 5 

Lecture II. Antecedent Signs of the Second Advent : 
the Destruction of Jerusalem ; Political 
and Ecclesiastical Commotions, . . . c 27 

Lecture III. Mohammedanism and Popery, .... 48 

Lecture IV. Schism, Heresy, Infidelity, and other 

Antichristian Influences 71 

Lectuke V. The Conversion and Restoration of the 

Jews, , ... 100 

Lecture VI. The Harvest of the Church, ... .136 

Lecture VII. The Millenium and Judgment, . . .162 

Lecture VIII. The Doctrine Reviewed: Objections 
Answered: Practical Bearing of the 
Doctrine, . . . . ', 201 



LECTURE FIRST. 



THE SECOND PERSONAL COMING OF OUR LORD. 



Acts, Chapter i. Verse 11. 
" Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing- up into heaven ? This 
same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, 
in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 

The holy season upon which we have this day en- 
tered* has been observed in the church for more 
than fourteen hundred years as a solemn preparation 
for the great Festival of Christmas. In the prayers, 
hymns and lessons, in the gospels and epistles provid- 
ed for her public services, the Church of Christ lifts 
up her voice — she lifts it up on high, and says to all 
her children "Behold your God !" Behold him as 
he came to visit us in great humility, by his suffer- 
ings and death to redeem the world ! Behold him as 
he will come again in his glorious majesty to judge 

♦Advent. 
2 



6 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

the quick and the dead ! Receive the grace — be 
thankful for the mercies brought by his first coming! 
Prepare for the glories and solemnities that will be 
connected with his second coming ! 

In conformity therefore with the services of the 
season, and in the belief that the subject is of the 
deepest interest and importance, we would now in- 
vite your attention to some inquiries respecting that 
" glorious appearing of the Great God our Saviour" 
which is the grand subject of promise and of hope to 
his Church. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ had frequent interviews 
with his disciples during the forty days which elaps- 
ed between his resurrection and ascension. He ap- 
peared to them, not for an instant only, and then 
vanishing like an apparition. But he held free and 
affectionate intercourse with them on various occa- 
sions and under different circumstances. He ate and 
drank with them ; allowed them to touch his sacred 
person ; and even permitted Thomas to put his fin* 
gers into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand 
into the wound which the spear had made in his 
side. He afforded them every possible means of 
proving his identity, and of obtaining the most full 
and satisfactory evidence of the fact of his resurrec- 
tion. 

We are even informed what were the leading to- 
pics of his conversation with them. He instructed 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 7 

them to wait in Jerusalem for the out-pouring of the 
Spirit to qualify them for the momentous work en- 
trusted to their hands, and freely spoke to them "of 
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." He 
undoubtedly gave them all needful directions as to 
the organization and government of his church, and 
authorised them to provide for the perpetuity of 
Christian instruction and discipline by commission- 
ing others, as their successors in the ministry, to 
preach the gospel and administer its ordinances in all 
succeeding ages even to the end of the world. We 
believe also that our Saviour went far beyond this 
in his communications with his Apostles. That he 
spake to them of the progress and termination of 
the present dispensation, directed their view to its 
grand result, and gave ample instructions as to his 
second coming to display his glory as the king of 
Zion — to judge the quick and the dead — and to es- 
tablish a "dominion from sea to sea, and from the ri- 
ver to the ends of the earth." 

As Jews, they had dwelt much upon those strong 
and glowing passages of the Prophets which led 
them to expect a conquering Messiah, who would 
restore their nation to more than its ancient glory, 
reign upon the throne of David, and, at the same time, 
sway the sceptre of universal empire — having " the 
heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of 
the earth for his possession." While they were as- 



8 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

sembled together, with the Master in the midst of 
them, they asked, " Lord, ivilt thou at this time 
restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Did Jesus 
reprove them for the folly and vanity of their ex- 
pectations? Did he inform them that all the prophe- 
cies relating to him were fulfilled ; and that nothing 
more was meant by his universal kingdom than the 
church which was then about to be set up on earth, — 
or his ruling in the hearts of his people by the in- 
fluence of the Holy Spirit ? Did he reproach them 
for misapprehending and perverting the Scriptures 
relating to his glory and kingdom, as he did with re- 
spect to those which spake of his humiliation, suf- 
fering and death, saying " fools, and slow of heart 
to believe all that the Prophets have written ! Ought 
not Christ to have suffered those things, and to enter 
into his glory ?" Nothing of the kind ! Not one 
word of reproof or correction fell from his lips. He, 
by his silence, virtually admitted the reasonableness 
and piety of their expectations ; but simply informed 
them that the time for their fulfilment had not yet 
arrived. The prophecies of his kingdom were to 
be accomplished at some future period. But ivhen 
that period shall be, is one of the profound secrets 
of the Eternal mind. He had come once into the 
world, not to reign over it, but to suffer and die for 
its redemption. He would come again, to display 
his glory and to establish his kingdom; but of that 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 9 

last day— emphatically styled by St. Paul the "day 
of his appearing and of his kingdom/' " knoweth no 
man ; no, not the angels ivhich are in heaven ; 
neither the Son, but the Father." The fact that 
Christ will come again and be revealed as King of 
Kings and Lord of Lords, is certain, because plainly 
declared in Scripture ; but the precise time when his 
appearance and kingdom will take place, no created 
mind can positively determine, because it is one of the 
secret things which belong unto the Lord our God. 
On one occasion Jesus was asked "Lord, are there 
few that be saved ?" But instead of gratifying the 
curiosity of the inquirers he enforced a great practi- 
cal duty : "Strive to enter in at the straight gate, for 
many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall 
not be able." Even so when the assembled Apos- 
tles asked " Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again 
the kingdom to Israel?" instead of gratifying their 
curiosity, he fixed their minds upon the great duty 
which they were required to perform as preparatory 
to the establishment of his kingdom. " He said unto 
them, it is not for you to know the times and the 
seasons which the Father hath put in his own 
power ; but ye shall receive power after that the 
Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be 
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all 
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
parts of the earth. And ivhen he had spoken these 



10 THE SECONI> PERSONAL 

things, ivhile they beheld, he ivas taken up; and a 
cloud received him out of their sight ':" 

They gazed upon this amazing spectacle with sor- 
rowful interest. It is fair to presume that they would 
look upon themselves as left in a state of destitution 
and orphanage, and be tempted to believe that they 
would never see their Lord again ; but must part with 
all the high hopes they had cherished in relation to 
the display of his glory and the setting up of his 
kingdom upon earth. To preserve them from such 
despondency, however, they were immediately fa- 
vored with assurances to the contrary, from the lips 
of angelic instructors. " While they looked stead- 
fastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold two 
men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, 
ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into hea- 
ven ? This same Jesus who is taken up from you 
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
have seen him go into heaven." " And they wor- 
shipped him, and returned" (from Mount Olivet) "to 
Jerusalem with great joy : and were continually in 
the Temple, praising and blessing God."* 

While we reverently abstain from all positive cal- 
culations as to the time or period when this great 
event predicted in the text will occur; leaving such 
calculations to those who have either more discern- 
ment or less prudence than ourselves; we may find 

*St. Luke xxiv. 52, 53. 



COMING OF OUR LORD. II 

it profitable to meditate, as we now propose to do, 
upon what the Scriptures teach us respecting the se- 
cond Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ — the cir- 
cumstances which ivill precede and be connected 
with it — and its sublime and glorious results. 

I. We are first to consider what the Scriptures 
teach us respecting the Second Advent of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

It is well known to you that different opinions pre- 
vail in the Christian w r orld on the subject of the in- 
terpretation of prophecies. Some contend that wc 
are to expect a literal fulfilment of them, while others 
no less confidently assert that, as they are often cloth- 
ed in figurative language, they are to be fulfilled 
only in a spiritual sense. It is readily conceded by 
all that many metaphors are employed by the inspired 
writers. They often deliver the most important in- 
structions in the form of parables ; and, after the man- 
ner of the Orientals, freely employ tropes and similes 
as the drapery in which their valuable lessons are 
clothed. But where the interpretation is not given, 
(as it often is by the writer,) persons of sound judg- 
mentand reason are at no loss to perceive that the 
language is figurative, and readily give it the right in- 
terpretation. Thus, when our Lord, in his parables, 
compares his Church to a net gathering fishes of dif- 
ferent kinds, — to a ft eld 'in which the tares and wheat 
grow together, when he speaks of himself as a shep- 



THE SECOND PERSONAL 



herd, a rock, a door ; — and when in his graphic ac^ 
count of the day of judgment, he speaks of the righte- 
ous and wicked as sheep and goats, we are at no loss 
to discern his meaning. 

Even so in the prophetical books, tropes and fig- 
ures abound. They are employed however as mere 
ornaments, or expletives, inseparable from the sub- 
lime and poetic style of the respective writers. But 
as tothe subjects of prophecy — the things foretold — 
the substantial facts shadowed forth by the metaphors, 
we are of the opinion that the literal interpretation 
should be always adhered to. 

Let us test the truth of this principle with refer- 
ence to some prophecies of the Old Testament which 
relate to the coming of the Messiah. They are scat- 
tered throughout the sacred books from the com- 
mencement of Genesis to the close of Malachi, ex- 
pressed in various language, uttered by divers pro- 
phets, and announced at different periods. Are they 
to be literally or figuratively interpreted ? The first 
is in these words, " I will put enmity betiveen thee 
and the ivoman, and between thy seed and her 
seed f it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
bruise his heel"* We may say, if we please, that 
this was merely a prediction of the hostility between 
the race of serpents and the human race. But we 
Sail not to perceive that it teaches something more, 

*Gen. iii. 15. 



COMING OP OUR LORD. 13? 

We infer from it that the Tempter, the evil spirit who 
employed the agency of the Serpent, would have a 
conflict with one of the descendants of Eve, in which 
though he would inflict some injury, his own power 
would be crushed and destroyed. — We might conjec- 
ture that the prophecy might be fulfilled through the 
agency of one of the human race born after the ordi- 
nary course of generation — But behold, there was a 
more literal fulfilment. It was accomplished by one 
who was emphatically the seed of the woman with- 
out a human father, the holy child of a Virgin. 

So when it was promised to Abraham that in his 
" seed all the families of the earth should be bless- 
ed" — one might have considered this as nothing 
more than a prediction that mankind at large would 
be benefited by the descendants of Abraham. But 
the accomplishment was more literal. For "he saith 
not and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to 
thy seed, which is Christ."* 

Was it foretold that "a virgin should conceive and 
bear a son:" that " out of Bethlehem, Ephratah," one 
of the cities of Judah, should He come who was to 
be Ruler in Israel — whose goings forth were of old 
from everlasting ?t Miracles were wrought to secure 
the accomplishment of the prediction to the very let- 
ter. Caesar Augustus issued a decree that the whole 
world (i. e. the Roman empire) should be taxed. Jo- 
*Gal. iii. 16. fMicah. v. 2 



14 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

seph and Mary went up from Nazareth, their usual 
place of residence, to Bethlehem their family city, to 
be taxed there : and while there for this purpose, the 
prophecy was fulfilled in the birth of the son of the 
virgin. The star of which Balaam spake conducted 
the wise men of the East to the very spot where the 
young child was — while the angels of heaven de- 
scended to pour forth their songs of joy that the 
prophecies were fulfilled in the birth of him who 
should bring glory to God in the highest, peace on 
earth, good will towards men. 

If we look at the prophecies relating to the humilia- 
tion and sufferings of our Lord, they afford us strong 
confirmation of the same truth ; was it foretold that 
he should be betrayed by his familiar friend who ate 
of his bread — one of his own disciples, be denied 
by another, and forsaken by all ? That he should be 
'• a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief — de- 
spised and rejected of men" — that he should " be 
led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep dumb 
before the shearers, not open his mouth ; that he 
should give his back to the smiters, and his cheek to 
them that plucked off the hair? Behold in the evan- 
gelical narrative a literal fulfilment of the prophecies 
in his course of suffering until he hung expiring upon 
the cross ! Nor did it cease even then. For while 
he was in the agonies of crucifixion he uttered the 
cry which David had put into his mouth a thousand 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 15 

years before, " My God ! my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me?"* Then was there a minute fulfilment 
of other predictions. " They gave me gall for my 
meat, and in my thirst, vinegar to drink."t " They 
pierced my hands and my feet" — "they part my gar- 
ments among them" — and for "my vesture" — which 
being without seam, and woven from the top through- 
out, could not be divided, " they cast lots."± When 
the soldiers came to inspect the sufferers, and break 
their legs by way of hastening their death, finding 
that Jesus was dead already, they broke not his legs; 
and thus another Scripture was fulfilled which said 
" a bone of him shall not be broken." One of the 
guards which stood near the cross, with careless and 
cruel unconcern, plunged a spear into his side ; and 
thus another Scripture was fulfilled — "they shall look 
on him whom they pierced. "|| Instead of his body's 
being carried to the Potter's field like that of a com- 
mon malefactor, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich member 
of the Sanhedrim, begged the corpse and deposited it 
in his own new tomb; and thus was strangely fulfilled 
a paradoxical prophecy — "he made his grave with 
the rich and with the wicked in his death. "§ 

Now all Christians contend that in the birth, life, 
sufferings and death of Jesus the prophecies were ful- 
filled to the very letter. On this ground of their lit- 

*Ps. xxii. 1. tPs.brix.21. JPs. xxii. 16. 18. 

|| John xix. 36. 37 § Is.liii. 9. 



16 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

eral fulfilment, we maintain our argument with De- 
ists, in favour of the divine origin of our religion, 
and that with Jews, in favor of the Messiahship of 
our Lord. We feel persuaded that the exact corres- 
pondence between the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment and the history of the New affords a stable 
foundation for our faith in the Gospel which can 
never be shaken. 

But the Old Testament Scriptures speak of the 
Messiah and his coming under widely different cir- 
cumstances, and in very different terms from those 
which we have now quoted. They speak of him as 
coming not in humiliation, but in glory ; not to suf- 
fer, but to reign. Not as a despised infant, but as a 
mighty Conqueror. Not as a man of sorrows and ac- 
quainted with grief — to be despised and rejected of 
men ; but as a powerful and glorious monarch, who 
shall exalt his people, trample upon his enemies, and 
sway the sceptre of universal dominion. 

We now invite your attention to some of this re- 
markable class of prophecies, scattered throughout 
the pages of the Old Testament. Isaiah having spo- 
ken of the Messiah as "a son born — a child given" — 
goes on to predict of this child that " the government 
shall he upon his shoulder ; and his name shall be 
called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the 
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the 
increase of his government and peace there shall be 



€OMtNG OP OUR LORD* 17 

no end, upon the throne of David and upon his 
kingdom, to order and establish it with judgment 
and with justice, from henceforth, even forever."* 
In perfect agreement with the word of the Prophet 
was the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Vir- 
gin; "Thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his 
name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the 
Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto 
him the throne of his father David, and he shall 
reign over the house of Israel forever ; and of his 
kingdom there shall be no end."t To the former 
part of each of these predictions all Christians give a 
literal interpretation. What sound principle is there 
that will justify a spiritual and mystical interpretation 
of the latter part, as if nothing more were intended 
than the spiritual kingdom of Christ in the hearts of 
his people, and the extension of his gospel among 
Jews and Gentiles ? Is this to explain Scripture ? 
Is it not rather, " darkening counsel by words with- 
out knowledge ?" 

The first part of the predictions of Isaiah and 
Gabriel has been literally fulfilled in the birth of 
Jesus Christ as " God manifest in the flesh," in whom 
" dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." 
But has the latter part been accomplished ? Has he 
ever been seated upon the throne of David — been ac- 
knowledged as the King of the Jews — or established a 

* Isaiah, ix. 6, 7. t St. Luke, i. 31-33. 

3 



18 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

universal dominion ? Must we not, then, as believers 
in revelation, expect the latter part of these predic- 
tions to be literally fulfilled at some future time, even 
as the former part has been in days that are past? 

In the fiftieth Psalm it is written: "The Mighty 
God, even the Lord hath spoken, and called the earth 
from the rising of the sun even unto the going down 
thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, hath 
God shined. Our God shall come, and shall not 
keep silence; afire shall devour before him, and it 
shall be very tempestuous round about him. He 
shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, 
that he m&y judge his people."* How exactly does 
this accord with those passages of the New Testa- 
ment which speak of our Lord's coming amidst the 
fire and terrors of the last day ? 

The 2d, 45th, 72d, 93d, 94th, 95th, 96th, 97th, 
98th, 99th, 110th and other Psalms, all celebrate 
the reign of the divine Messiah, and describe the 
righteousness and the blessings of his kingdom. 

Isaiah and Micah inform us that in the last days, 
" the mountain of the Lord's house" (i. e. Jerusalem 
or Zion,) " shall be established in the top of the 
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills," (i. e. 
above all the dominions of this world, whether po- 
litical or religious,) " and all nations shall flow unto 
it. And many people shall go and say, come ye 

*Ps.l. 1-4. 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 19 

and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
house of the God of Jacob; and hewill teach us of 
his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of 
Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerusalem. And he (the Messiah) shall 
judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many- 
people; and they shall beat their swords into plough- 
shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation 
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
they learn war any more. house of Jacob, come 
ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord"* 
" For the day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon 
every one that is proud and lofty, — and the loftiness 
of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness 
of men shall be laid low ; and the Lord alone shall 
be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall 
utterly abolish. — In that day a man shall cast his 
idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they 
made each one for himself to worship, to the moles 
and to the bats ; to go into the clefts of the rocks, 
and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of 
the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he 
ariseth to shake terribly the earth."t "In that day, 
saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and 
I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I 
have afflicted ; and I will make her that halted a 
remnant, and her that was cut off a strong nation, 
•Isaiah, ii. 2-5; Micah, iv. 1-8. f Isaiah, ii. 11, 18, 21. 



20 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount 
Zion, from henceforth, even forever."* In Isaiah 
it is again written : " There shall come forth a rod 
out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow 
out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall 
rest upon him : — with righteousness shall he judge 
the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of 
the earth ; and he shall smite the earth with the rod 
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall 
he slay the wicked" (How exactly does this cor- 
respond with the words of St. Paul, " that Wicked, 
whom the Lord will consume with the spirit or 
breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the 
brightness of his coming."!) "And righteousness 
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the 
girdle of his reins. They shall not hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full 
of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea"% 

In the wonderful revelations made to Daniel re- 
specting the Messiah's kingdom and coming, it is 
thus written: "I saw in the night visions, and be- 
hold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds 
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they 
brought him near before him. And there was given 
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages should serve him : 

*Micab, iv. 6-7. f2 Thess. ii. 8. % Isaiah, xi. 1-10. 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 21 

his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall 
not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed."* In perfect harmony with this is the 
prediction of Zechariah : " The Lord shall be king 
over all the earth : In that day shall there be one 
Lord, and his name one."t 

These are but a specimen or sample of the many 
passages in the Prophets which speak of a reigning 
and conquering Messiah, displaying his glory, and 
establishing his righteous dominion throughout the 
world. The Jews of old considered these passages 
as applicable to the Messiah, and accordingly ex- 
pected him as a king, to reign upon the throne of 
David, exalt the Jewish nation, and establish a do- 
minion far transcending, in splendor and power, all 
the monarchies of earth. Such is the general ex- 
pectation of that people now. We blame them not 
for this. The error of the Jews is their being so ex- 
clusively taken up with this class of prophecies that 
they overlook those which no less plainly predicted 
the coming of the Messiah to suffer and die before 
he should appear in his glory. But while we use 
our best efforts to convince them that the prophecies 
relating to the humiliation and sufferings of the 
Messiah have been fulfilled in the person and history 
of Jesus Christ at his first coming, may we not learn 

* Dan. vii. 13-14; compare Matt. xxiv. 30, Rev. i. 7. f Zech. xiv. 9. 
3* 



22 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

from them, how those relating to the glory and king- 
dom of the Messiah are to receive their accomplish- 
ment at his second coming ? 

As the Jews, attracted by the superior splendor of 
the promises relating to the second advent of Mes- 
siah, overlooked and neglected those which relate to 
his first coming in great humility, — even so, is it not 
to be feared that Christians are so engrossed by the 
mercies brought to mankind by his first advent, that 
they too commonly overlook or misapprehend those 
passages which refer to his second coming in glori- 
ous majesty, at the last day ? It is true, we profess 
to believe that he will " come again to judge the 
quick and the dead," — but how mystical, shadowy, 
and indistinct are our views in reference to tbe se- 
cond revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ ? 

How many suppose that our Lord's second com- 
ing means nothing more than the day of our death, 
when we shall go individually into the presence of 
God, to receive our sentence, and be immediately con- 
signed to heaven or hell ! Whenever they reflect 
upon the judgment-day, (for the awful theme will 
sometimes force itself upon their attention !) what 
are their views? They form a conception of some 
mysterious and inexplicable manifestation of the di- 
vine glory, — the erection of a great white throne 
either in heaven, or some other region beyond the 
boundaries of this globe, where all the human race 



COMING OF OUR LORD. 23 

will be assembled for the grand Assize; the righteous 
will be separated from the wicked ; — and in the short 
space of one day of twelve or twenty-four hours, all 
the stupendous events connected with the second 
advent of our Lord will be accomplished, and done 
with forever ! 

Now, we ask, is this view answerable to the lan- 
guage of the Old Prophets — the instructions of in- 
spired Apostles — the admonitions and warnings of 
our Lord himself, upon this fearfully grand and ma- 
jestic theme ? This view includes no manifestation 
of Christ in his human nature, — no establishment of 
a dominion upon earth, — no restoration of the Jews, 
— no offering of universal incense to the Lord by the 
Gentile nations, no overthrow of Antichrist, no first 
resurrection of departed saints, — no transformation 
of living ones, — no binding of Satan for a thou&and 
years — no creation of a new heavens and a new 
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness: — In a word, 
there is an absence of almost all the antecedents and 
concomitants which the Scriptures teach us to look 
for in connexion with the second coming of our 
Lord. To some of those antecedents and concomi- 
tants, as well as to the glorious results of our Lord's 
second advent, I propose to invite your attention in 
the present course of Lectures. 

Let us bear away from the house of God this night 
the solemn impression, that the second coming of 



24 THE SECOND PERSONAL 

Christ will be an event no less real than his first; 
and, so far as we are informed, those predictions 
•which relate to the one, ivill be fulfilled no less tru- 
ly and literally than those have been which relate 
to the other. 

We are not at liberty to change actual events into 
figures, or to force upon plain and express passages 
of holy writ, which relate to facts, a metaphorical and 
spiritual interpretation. We may properly translate 
metaphors into the facts which they are intended to 
symbolize, but it is never lawful, in interpreting 
God's word, to convert facts into figures. As Jesus 
Christ once actually came, as the Son of man, to seek 
and to save that which was lost ; so will he actually 
come again, as the Son of man, in the clouds of hea- 
ven, to judge the quick and the dead. It is no unreal 
picture — no imaginary scene — of which we speak. 
" Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into 
heaven ? this same Jesus shall so come again, in like 
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." As 
they saw him ascend with their bodily eyes, so, when 
he comes again, "every eye shall see him; and they 
also that pierced him shall wail because of him."* 
As he ascended from the Mount of Olives, — so 
Zechariah informs us, that in the last day " his feet 
shall stand upon the Mount of Olives" again.! 

* Rev. i. 7. t Zech. xiv. 4. 



COMING OP OUR LORD. 25- 

Those feet which once trod the streets of Jerusalem 
in humiliation and sorrow, shall again traverse them 
in majesty and glory. Those hands which were once 
employed in acts of benevolence and mercy, shall 
then distribute blessings and gifts to his saints. That 
tongue which once spake the accents of truth and 
love, shall be employed in pronouncing benedictions 
upon his people, and wrath upon his enemies. And 
the guilty nation which once exclaimed " crucify 
him — crucify him !" will then, according to his own 
prediction, sing " Hosanna to the son of David !" 
" Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord."* 

We will not now anticipate the solemn and joyful 
scenes that will accompany and follow that great day 
of Christ's "appearing and kingdom." But we wish 
you to realize that he will truly come again to this earth 
to reckon with his servants and decide their doom. 
But "who may abide the day of his coming? or who 
shall stand when he appeareth?" Are we prepared 
for the coming of our Lord ? Are we among the 
penitent, believing and holy ones, who are "looking 
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God ?" 
or are we among the impenitent and unholy who will 
" wail because of him ?" 

May there be great searchings of heart in this as- 
sembly ! " For the proud, and all that do wickedly 

* Mat. xxii. 39. 



26 THE SECOND PERSONAL, &C. 

shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall 
burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts: but unto 
you that fear my name, shall the sun of righteousness 
arise with healing in his wings." 



LECTURE SECOND. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING OF 
OUR LORD : THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, 
POLITICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL COMMOTIONS. 



St. Luke, Chapter xxi; Verses 25-28. 
** And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the 
stars; and upon the earth, distress of nations, with perplexity : the 
sea and the waves roaring- ; men's hearts failing- them for fear, and 
for looking after those things which are coming on the earth ; for 
the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the 
Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. And 
when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up 
your heads ; for your redemption draweth nigh." 

On the last Sunday evening we entered into an 
examination of the leading prophecies of the Old 
Testament relating to the Messiah, and proved that 
all those predictions which refer to his first coming 
as the child of a virgin, a man of sorrows and ac- 
quainted with grief — to be despised and rejected of 
~^en, — by a life of suffering and a death of ignominy 



2S ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

to satisfy the claims of law and justice, and thus effect 
the redemption of the world, — had been fulfilled 
to the very letter, even in the circumstances which 
appeared to be trifling and accidental ; — such as the 
giving him vinegar to drink, the parting of his gar- 
ments and the casting lots upon his vesture, — the 
not breaking his legs, the piercing his side, and the 
making of his grave with the wicked and with the 
rich in his death : all — all were distinctly foreseen 
by the Prophets: in all, written predictions were lite- 
rally fulfilled. 

Thus far, all Christians are happily agreed. — No 
believer in Christ would advocate the spiritual or 
mystical interpretation of the prophecies relating to 
the first coming of our Lord. History has become 
their interpreter. It is no longer a matter of faith, 
but of knowledge. Here we all take our stand in 
defence of the gospel. In our controversy with in- 
fidels, we triumphantly prove the inspiration of the 
Scriptures, by showing that what was predicted 
hundreds of years before actually came to pass pre- 
cisely as foretold. We also successfully maintain 
our argument with Jews, by showing that the facts 
which the Prophets foretold respecting the humilia- 
tion, birth, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the 
Messiah were literally accomplished in the history 
of Jesus of Nazareth. 

But while there is thus far a perfect agreement 



ANTECEDENT SI&NS. 20 

%imong Christian divines and commentators, there is, 
with respect to that large class of prophecies in the 
Old and New Testaments which relate to the second 
coming, the conquests, kingdom, and glory of the 
Messiah, a remarkable difference of opinion as to the 
true interpretation. The majority in our day seem 
to consider these prophecies as altogether metaphor- 
ical, ascribe to them only a mystical and spiritual 
meaning, and seem to suppose that the literal in- 
terpretation is too absurd and visionary to be en^ 
titled even to respectful examination. But, on 
the other hand, Justin Martyr,* and several other 

* The well known quotation from Justin Martyr'* dialogue with 
Trypho, the Jew, clearly proves not only his individual conviction 
of the truth of the doctrine that Christ will personally reign upon 
earth for a thousand years, but also, that such was the received belief 
of the Christian Church in that early period. He grounds the doc- 
trine "upcn plain prophecies of the Old Testament, and express 
words of the New. He professeth that he, and all other Christians, 
of a right belief in all things, believe it : joins them who believe it 
not with them who deny the resurrection ; or else says, that none de • 
nied this, but the same who denied the resurrection; and that indeed 
they were called Christians, but in deed and in truth were none.'' 
Chillingworth says; "Whatsoever doctrine is believed and taught by 
the most eminent fathers of every age of the Church, and by none 
of their contemporaries opposed and condemned, that is to be es- 
teemed the Catholic doctrine of the church of those times ; but the 
doctrine of the Millenaries was believed and taught by the most 
eminent fathers of the age next after the Apostles, and by none of 
that age opposed or condemned ; therefore it was the Catholic doctrine 
of the church of those times. That doctrine which was believed and 
taught by Papias bishop of Hierapolis, the disciple of the Apostles' 
disciples, who, (according to Eusebius) lived in the time of the Apos- 
4 



30 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

of the earlier Fathers have been followed, by learned 
and pious men in different ages, and by a large and 
increasing number in our own day, (who in point of 
talent, learning, and holiness will not suffer by a 
comparison with others,) in contending for the same 
principles of interpretation as applicable to the un- 
fulfilled as well as to the fulfilled prophecies; to 
those predictions which relate to the second, as well 
as those which relate to the first, advent of our Lord ; 
— to those which relate to the rebuilding of Jerusa- 
lem as well as those which relate to its overthrow ; — 
to those which relate to the glory and the kingdom, 
as well as those which relate to the humiliation and 
sufferings, of the Messiah. 

The longer I live, — the more thoroughly I study 
the Scriptures, the more do I feel inclined to adopt 
the latter as the sounder principle of interpretation. 
I cannot believe that all the glorious things written 
in the sacred volume about the Messiah's kingdom 
upon earth are fulfilled in his spiritual reign over the 
hearts of believers, or in any state of the church 
which we are likely to behold under the operation 

ties, by Justin Martyr, doctor of the church and martyr ; by Melito, 
bishop of Sardis, who had the gift of prophecy; witness Tert: and Bel- 
larmine acknowledges a saint; by St. Ireneus, bishop of Lyons and 
martyr : — that doctrine was taught by the most eminent fathers of 
that age next to the Apostles and opposed by none." Those who desire 
to see a fuller statement of patristical authority on this point, may 
consult Chillingworth's additional discourses on the infallibility of 
the Roman Church, chapter v. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 31 

of existing causes. I cannot believe that all the 
striking predictions relating to the sudden and over- 
whelming destruction of false systems of religion and 
antichristian powers, the restoration of the Jews, and 
the splendors of the new Jerusalem, — the Millenial 
reign of Christ with his saints, and the creation of a 
new heavens and a new earth, are to be fulfilled by 
the slow process of converting Jews and Gentiles, as 
it is now progressing under human instrumentality. 
I cannot believe that those passages of Scripture, 
which speak of the terrors connected with the Lord's 
coming, — in this chapter aud in the other gospels, — 
were fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem ; or 
that those which speak of the mingled scenes of joy 
and sorrow — of glory to the righteous, and suffering 
to the wicked, at the glorious appearing of the Lord 
— will be fulfilled, as according to the common ap- 
prehension, either by our going to him at death, or 
by a display of his divine presence and the holding 
of a great assize, in heaven or in the clouds, during 
a short day of twelve or twenty-four hours duration. 
On the contrary, I have attempted to show that 
this earth, which was the scene of our Saviour's hu- 
miliation and sufferings, is destined to be the theatre 
of his kingdom and glory. That, in fulfilment of 
Job's prophecy, the Redeemer " shall stand at the 
latter day upon the earth" — and that holy man 
(as one of the risen saints,) shall with his own eyes 



52 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

behold him : he will see him for himself, and not 
another.* 

As he really and visibly ascended, so shall he re- 
ally and visibly descend. He shall come in like 
manner as he was seen to go into heaven. He shall 
appear as " King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." He 
shall set up his universal dominion " from sea to sea, 
and from the river to the end of the earth."t He 
shall be acknowledged and adored as "King over all 
the earth.":}: 

Does this appear incredible to you ? Do you say 
" We cannot believe that all these marvels will be 
accomplished? It cannot be that this poor, guilty, 
accursed earth will again become the abode of right- 
eousness and the theatre of the Redeemer's glory ! 
This is too wonderful for our faith !" How then, 
I ask, can you believe the mystery of the Incarna- 
tion? The wonders of the first advent are, in reality, 
greater than those of the second. Surely it requires 
more faith to believe that " God was manifest in the 
flesh," that he " who was in the form of God, and 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God," was 
made in the likeness of men, lived in poverty, suf- 
fering and persecution upon earth, and finally died 
the accursed death of the cross, and became a tenant 
of the grave, — than to believe that He who " was 
manifested to be the Son of God with power by his 

♦ Job, xix, 25-27. — Surely this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, 
t Ps. lxxii. 8. % Zech. xiv. 9. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 33 

resurrection from the dead'- — shall come again in 
glory and majesty to receive the homage of a ran- 
somed world. " The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will 
perform this." He will " overturn, and overturn, 
and overturn, till He whose right it is to reign shall 
come, and rule king of nations as he now does king 
of saints." 

Of the precise time when this great event shall 
take place, we pretend not to have any accurate 
knowledge ; and upon the whole subject of unful- 
filled prophecy it becomes us to speak with diffidence 
and caution ; — remembering always that, although it 
is our duty, so far as may be allowed to our igno- 
rance, to ascertain what is the- meaning of God's 
word, — that word was never intended to make us 
Prophets. We may be certain of the great facts 
which are clearly revealed ; but of the means by 
which they are to be brought to pass, or of the pre- 
cise time of their accomplishment, we should speak 
with the most profound humility ; for they are 
among the secrets which the Lord has concealed in 
his own bosom. All confident calculations on these 
points, however plausible and reasonable they may 
appear to our short-sighted minds, should be checked 
by the remembrance of theMaster's words, " The 
Son of man cometh in an hour when ye look not 
for him. Of that day, and of that hour, knoweth no 
man ; no not the angels which are in heaven, neither 
4* 



34 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

the Son, but the Father." But of the great revealed 
fact, that Jesus will come again in his glory, we may 
be as certain as that he once came to visit us in great 
humility. 

May this truth be deeply impressed upon our 
minds ! May we be habitually prepared for the 
coming of our Lord ! 

In the further discussion of this subject, I shall 
avail myself of the light thrown upon it by the la- 
bors of others, as well as of that which may be ob- 
tained by the prayerful study of the Scriptures 
themselves. 

The object aimed at, however, is not a minute and 
systematic exposition of all the prophecies relating 
to the subject, but an investigation of those promi- 
nent points which are most clearly revealed and of 
the highest practical importance. 

Your attention is now invited to a notice of some 
of the leading events which are spoken of in scripture 
as precedents, or things which go before the second 
coming of our Lord. The first to which we shall refer 
are those presented to our view in the striking and 
memorable words of the text. " And there shall be 
vsigns in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 
upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; 
the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing 
them for fear, and for looking after those things 
which are coming on the earth : for the powers of 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 35 

heaven shall be shaken, and then shall they see the 
Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great 
glory. And when these things begin to come to 
pass, then look up and lift up your heads : for your 
redemption draweth nigh." 

The prophecies contained in this chapter are pre- 
cisely the same, and expressed in nearly the same 
language, with those recorded by St. Matthew and 
St. Mark.* The discourse of which they form a 
part is that memorable one in which our Lord fore- 
told the destruction of Jerusalem; an event which, 
according to the general belief of Christians, was a 
type, foreshadowing the greater terrors of the last 
day. Some have inferred from the words, "this ge- 
neration shall not pass away till all these things be 
fulfilled, "t that it is exclusively applicable to that 
long past historical event. 

But Bishop Horsley and others have shown, con- 
clusively, that the phrase is not to be thus limited. 
The word translated " generation/' in some connex- 
ions means " an age" in others, a nation, and then 
again it means a class of men of a particular cha- 
racter. Thus the wicked are called " a generation 
of evil doers/' and u the righteous are counted tc- 
the Lordybr a generation." Our Saviour called the 
.Tews u a wicked and adulterous generation," be- 
cause they sought after unpromised signs, and would, 

* St. Matt, xxiv. xxv. chap. Mark xiii, f v. 32. . 



36 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

not believe his doctrine and Messiahship. And it is 
no perversion of his words, or evasion of his mean- 
ing, to understand him as saying, that the wicked, 
unbelieving, Jewish nation would not cease to exist, 
or should "not pass away," till all the things of which 
he then spake should be fulfilled.* 

There must be an excessive strain and perversion 
put upon our Lord's words if we confine the whole 
prophecy to the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Roman army. To that event the words immediately 
preceding the text do unquestionably relate. "When 
ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then 
know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let 
them which are in Judea flee to the mountains ; and 
let them which are in the midst of it depart out ; 
and let not them that are in the countries enter there- 
into. For these be the days of vengeance, that all 
things which are written may be fulfilled. But wo 
unto them that are with child, and to them which 
give suck, in those days, for there shall be great dis- 
tress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And 
they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall 

♦The Greek word Tevecc translated " generation," according 
to the best lexicographers and critics, ought generally to be trans- 
lated race, — or a people of one common origin. Instances of this 
are common in our translation of the Scriptures as compared with 
the Septuagint, and with the Greek Testament. The quotations in 
the text will serve as specimens from the Old Testament, in Philipp- 
ians ii. 15, the word is translated nation ; so mightit have been here. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 37 

be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem 
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." These words 
refer to the overthrow of Jerusalem, and were aw- 
fully accomplished in the sacking and desolation of 
the holy city, and in the slaughter and dispersion of 
the chosen people. But then the discourse takes a 
wider range, and the Divine speaker, no longer con- 
fining himself to the case of the Jews and their 
beautiful city, speaks of events interesting to all 
the nations of the earth, and which were not to take 
place till after Jerusalem had been " trodden down 
of the Gentiles" and the chosen people who escaped 
the edge of the sword had been " scattered among 
all nations, and the times of the Gentiles ," or the 
period of their power to oppress the Jews, — should 
"be fulfilled:' 

The destruction of Jerusalem was but " the begin- 
ning of sorrows." The disciples would hear of 
wars and rumours of wars, but " the time is not 
yet." False prophets and false Christs were to 
arise, who should " deceive, if it were possible, the 
very elect."* Our Lord forewarned his disciples 
that they should be persecuted and killed, and "hated 
of all men for his name's sake." He spake of judg- 

* Professor Tholuck, as the result of careful investigation, states 
that since the advent of Christ fifty-four false Messiahs have ap- 
peared among- the Jews, deceiving- many of them by their preten- 
sions to be the Great Deliverer. 



3S ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

merits which were to fall upon the nations, and trials 
with which the Church was to be visited, while Jeru- 
salem was trodden down by the Gentiles, — as it still 
is, — and until " the times of the Gentiles" for exer- 
cising oppression upon the despised Jews, — which 
still lasts,—" shall be fulfilled." During the same 
period of time, the work of propagating Christianity 
was to go forward till " the Gospel of the kingdom 
shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto 
all nations ; and then shall the end come."* The 
end of the world — or, of this dispensation, which 
will take place at the coming of the Son of man, is 
to be preceded by those fearful signs and events 
spoken of in the text. " And there shall be signs in 
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars ; and upon 
the earth, distress of nations, with perplexity ; the 
sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing them 
for fear and for looking after those things which are 
coming on the earth ; for the powers of heaven shall 
be shaken : and then shall they see the Son of man 
coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. And 
when these things begin to come to pass, then look 
up and lift up your heads ; for your redemption 
draweth nigh." 

" Now what coming of the Lord is this ? Not 
his providential visitation at the destruction of Jeru- 
salem ; for then, instead of coming in the clouds of 

»Matt. xxiv. 14. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 39 

heaven, he did not come at all ; but he stirred up the 
hearts of the Roman Emperors to come and bring 
their armies and destroy Jerusalem. Instead of 
every eye seeing him at that time, no eye saw him, 
for he remained in the invisible world. Instead of 
the Jewish nation seeing and knowing him as the 
person whom they had pierced, they were still re- 
jecting him ; and for that rejection were visited with 
those desolating judgments/'* Instead of Jews and 
Christians lifting up their heads, and rejoicing that 
their redemption was at hand ; the destruction of 
Jerusalem involved the former in utter degradation, 
banishment and ruin, and prepared the way for the 
more bitter and unrelenting persecution of the latter. 
We conclude, therefore, without doubt, or peradven- 
ture, that the words of the text, and what follows, 
relate to a theme of far higher grandeur and wider 
interest than that of the overthrow of Jerusalem. 

As in that event, the preceding part of our Lord's 
prophecy in this chapter was fulfilled to the very 
letter, even so, the succeeding portions of it will be 
no less exactly accomplished, in the more wonderful 
things which will precede and accompany his second 
personal Advent at the last day. As the revolution 
of a few years after the words were uttered demon- 
strated, by historical illustrations, what was contained 
in the former part of the prophecy, may we not rea- 

*Rev. Husm McNeille. 



40 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

sonably infer, from the signs of the times, that the 
revolution of a few years now to come will, by the 
development of facts, demonstrate what is meant by 
the awiul terms employed in the latter part of it?* 
But when we say that there will be an exact ac- 
complishment of the prediction,— while we may be- 
lieve that there will be literally marvellous "signs in 
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars," and also 
upon the land, and in the sea;— yet, we do not wish 
to deny that there may be here, as is common in 
other parts of Scripture, a commingling of figurative 
and literal instruction : and it may be well to inquire 

♦ Those who would confine our Lord's discourse to the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, rely much upon the words « when ye shall see 
all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.' Matt, 
xxiv 33. To this Bishop Hartley answers: « That it is near ; so we 
read in our English Bibles; and expositors render the word it, by 
the nun foretell or the desolation spoken of. But what was the rum 
foretold, or the desolation spoken of? The ruin of the Jewish nation 
-the desolation of Jerusalem. What were all these things which 
when they should see, they might know it to be near ? AH the par- 
ticulars of our Saviour's detail ;-that is to say, the destruction of 
Jerusalem with all the circumstances of confusion and distress with 
which it was tobeaccompanied. This exposition, therefore makes, 
as I conceive, the desolation of Jerusalem the prognostic of itself- 
the sign and the thing signified the same. The true rendering of 
the original I take to be, « So likewise ye, when ye shall see all the 
thingsfknow that He is near at the doors. He, that is, the Son of 
man! spoken of in the verses immediately preceding " as coming in 
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.'' Horsley s flter- 
mons pages 9-10. This opinion of the Bishop is fully confirmed by the 
paral'el passage in St. Luke, xxi. 31. -When ye shall see these things 
come to pass, know ycthat thekingdomof God is nigh athand." 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 41 

What is the meaning of the metaphors? what the in- 
terpretation of the signs employed ? 

When God created lights in the firmament of hea- 
ven, to divide the day from the night, it is said he 
made them " for signs, and for seasons, and for days, 
and for years." We understand the agency of those 
luminaries in the division of time, and their influence 
upon the seasons ; — but what is their meaning as 
signs ? An ingenious interpretation of this has 
been suggested by the dream of Joseph that " the 
sun, the moon, and the stars made obeisance" to him. 
When he told it to his father, he exclaimed — " shall 
I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, indeed come to 
bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ?"* "Here 
the sun is used as a sign for the head of the patriar- 
chal family — the ruler — the source of authority ; he 
was both king and priest in his family, and there- 
fore a type of Christ."t 

Christ, the source of all authority, whether civil 
or ecclesiastical, is called " the sun of righteousness." 

*Gen. xxxvii. 10. 

f Joseph was also an eminent type of Christ, as having- been sold 
by his own brethren for the price of a slave, exercising* prophetical 
powers, being placed ^etween two malefactors, and after his humili- 
ation and degradation, being made Lord over all the land of Egypt. 
As it was not till after Joseph's elevation to princely power that his 
dream was fulfilled in the sun, moon, and stars doing obeisance to 
him; so the dominions of this world, whether political or religious, 
will not all bow down before Christ till he shall be revealed in his 
glory, at the great day of his appearing and his kingdom. 
5 



42 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

And therefore, Faber and other commentators on 
prophecy consider the sun, in prophetical language, 
as the sign of constituted authority. The moon 
was used as a sign of the patriarchal mother. She 
had a species of authority over the children ; not in 
her own right, but by virtue of her marriage. In 
prophetical language, the moon is a symbol of the 
Church, dependent for all her authority upon her 
Lord, as the moon is for light upon the sun. The 
phrase " powers of heaven," when used politically, 
means the governments of earth ; when spiritually 
used, the authority of the Church. The eleven stars, 
in Joseph's dream, meant the eleven sons of the pa- 
triarch ; but, in prophetical language, stars indicate 
the ministers of Christ. In the Revelations, Christ 
says " the mystery of the seven stars which thou 
sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden can- 
dlesticks. The seven stars are the seven angels" 
(Messengers, or Bishops,) "of the seven churches; 
and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches."* 

As to the remaining symbols in the text — by the 
earth is meant the territorial limits of human go- 
vernments: the sea denotes, in prophetical language, 
multitudes of people ; — and, when in a state of ex- 
citement, roaring, and agitation, as here, — people in 
a state of revolutionary fury and excitement.! 

Thus much may suffice for the exposition of the 

*Rev. i. 20. flsaiah, xvii. 12; Ezek. xxvi. 3; Ps. lxv. 7; Rev. xvii. 15. 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 43 

particular signs, or symbolical terms employed in the 
text. The general truth to be deduced from the 
words is, that, before the second coming of our Lord, 
there would be political and civil commotions, such 
as had been unexampled in the preceding history of 
the world. That there should be wars more tragical 
and bloody than were ever carried on by the Alex- 
anders and Philips of ancient times : That the spirit 
of revolution would break forth with uncontrollable 
ftiry, — subverting old established dynasties,— -mak- 
ing time-honored and venerable thrones shake to their 
foundations, — reducing political institutions to their 
elements, — as it were, overwhelming all the pride 
and splendor of kingdoms, and carrying civil things 
back to chaos again. Some of these " signs in the 
sun" the emblem of earthly authorities and powers, 
have already taken place, and have been written, as 
with tears and blood, in the history of modern na- 
tions. And, for aught we know, the present tempo- 
rary calm may be but preparatory to more tremendous 
convulsions — to tempests of greater fury. It may 
be, that still more marvellous conflicts and revolu- 
tions, than those with which the fame of Napoleon 
is blended, are yet to be entered upon the sorrowful 
chronicles of this guilty world. 

The text also speaks of " signs in the moon, and 
in the stars ;" and, according to the symbolical in- 
terpretation, teaches us, that, before the second com- 



44 ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 

ing of the Son of man, there should be great reli- 
gious excitements, — times of error and darkness, — 
of persecution and superstition in the Church : That 
many of its ministers — (stars in the spiritual firma- 
ment,) should fall from their spheres; that the church 
herself should be involved in darkness, ceasing to 
give her light ; and be the agent, or victim of perse- 
cution^ — indicated by the moon being " turned into 
blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord 
shall come." In the history of Popery and Moham- 
medanism, — in the wide-spread apostacies, heresies, 
schisms, and fearful scenes of persecution, which 
have disgraced the Christian name in former pe- 
riods, — we learn that the prophecy has in part 
been fulfilled ; — and the events now in progress in 
the religious world afford clear indications that the 
accomplishment of the remainder cannot be very 
remote. 

But we must reserve a more particular considera- 
tion of the antecedents of the Second Advent until 
the next Sunday evening, and shall conclude the pre- 
sent discourse with a striking quotation from the 
writings of one of the most gifted and eloquent min- 
isters of the Church of England. 

" Where, where is the man who can contemplate 
the truths revealed to the Apostles," respecting the 
second coming of our Lord, " without catching a 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 45 

spark of the Apostolic fire," which the subject en- 
kindled in their bosoms ? 

"In all light there is heat. The man who can 
proceed in a cold investigation of these revealed glo- 
ries of God in Christ Jesus, without finding himself 
once and again hurried away into a warmth of devo- 
tional enthusiasm which bids defiance to all rules of 
logic, has more reason to be ashamed of the deadness 
of his heart, than to pride himself upon the sound- 
ness of his understanding. This exuberance of feel- 
ing, however, arising from the overflowing fulness 
of the transporting subject, is a very different thing 
from that vapid excitement which is begun, con- 
tinued, and ended in emptiness." 

"Witness its operation upon the mind of St. John, 
n the Isle of Patmos. ' Behold he cometh with 
clouds !' This exclamation of the Apostle is ground- 
ed upon the last of those sublime visions which had 
been represented to him, and with the glory of which 
he was so filled, when he came to testify the truth 
to the churches, that he is interrupted, as it were, 
by involuntary bursts of feeling. In his benediction, 
he had called Jesus Christ ' the faithful witness,' 
6 the first begotten of the dead/ and * the prince of 
the kings of the earth' — with evident allusion to the 
three-fold revelation of the Lord which he had re- 
ceived — the great Bishop or teacher of the Church — 
the Lamb as it had been slain, appearing in heaven, — 
5* 



46 ANTECEDENT SIGNS'. 

and the King of Kings returning to the earth. Then, 
out of the abundance of his inspired heart, burst forth 
the Doxology, ' unto him that loved us, and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him 
be glory forever and ever !' 

" But this was not enough to satisfy his ardent, 
holy enthusiasm. A chart had been laid before him, 
marking the course of the voyage by which God 
had foreordained to carry on the Church and the 
world through this dispensation. Both are seen sail- 
ing together : the one exulting in her pride, — the 
other, meek and lowly : the one glittering in all the 
splendor of costly ornaments, — the other in sack- 
cloth : the one changing its aspects under successive 
commanders, and increasing, as it proceeds, in luxury 
and pride ; — the other, always the same, under one 
Captain, — neither imitating nor envying the pageant- 
ry of its companion: The one ringing with the 
sounds of revellings, banquetings, and blasphemies ; 
— the other, breathing into every gale the tender ac- 
cents of earnest, humble prayer. 

" They sail on together : the one, pleased with the 
voyage, and wishing it to last forever ; — the other, 
sore buffetted and weary, almost unto death, — long- 
ing for the haven. The whole voyage being traced 
before the Apostle's eye, the port at last appears, and 
then, behold ! the Master of both vessels rushes 



ANTECEDENT SIGNS. 4/ 

forth with flaming fire ! Every eye beholds him. 
The crew of the little tempest-tossed bark shout for 
joy, saying, 'this is our Friend : we have longed for 
him, we have waited for him : now He is come, and 
he will save us : Hallelujah V Then shall doleful 
cries be heard from on board the great, gay vessel ; 
for everlasting destruction shall be her portion, and 
that of all who belong to her."* 

* Rev. Hugh McNeille, of St. Jude's Church, Liverpool. 



LECTURE THIRD 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 



2. Thessalonians, Chapter ir. Verses 3-4. 
Cf For that day shall not come except there come a falling- away first, 
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition : who opposeth 
and cxalteth himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, 
so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing- himself 
that he is God." 

In our last discourse upon the second Advent of 
our Lord, we entered upon a consideration of the 
events which were to precede that great day of his 
appearing and kingdom. We endeavored to show, 
from the language which Christ addressed to his dis- 
ciples in reference to it, that by signs in the sun, the 
moon, and the stars, — the roaring of the sea, and agi- 
tations of the earth, — were intended great commo- 
tions in civil and ecclesiastical dominions, — revolu- 
tions in human governments — apostacies, heresies and 
persecutions in the church ; — and, in general terms, 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 49 

we noticed some particulars in which those prophe- 
cies had been fulfilled. Here we resume the subject, 
and proceed to speak of some of the leading events 
which are represented in the Scriptures as going be- 
fore the second coming of Christ. 

However much this subject may be overlooked 
and neglected by many Christians of this age, it was 
contemplated with intense interest by the followers 
of Christ in primitive times. The solemn warnings 
and admonitions of their Lord were still sounding in 
their ears. The inspired Apostles often presented 
to their view the last day — with all its joy and tri- 
umph to the watchful and faithful servants of God — 
with all its terrors and wrath to a slumbering and 
guilty world. So vivid were their impressions upon 
the subject, that they were in danger of overlooking 
or misjudging the signs that were to precede, — and 
were liable to be misled by any who, for sinister 
ends, should teach them that the kingdom of the 
Lord would immediately appear. 

So great was this danger, that the Apostle Paul 
found it necessary to warn the Thessalonians against 
it. He had, in the first Epistle and in the preceding 
chapter of this, spoken in the most animated and 
awakening terms upon this momentous theme.* 
But then remembering the arts of deceivers who 
would be ready to pervert his strong language to 

*1 Thess. v. 2-8 ; 2 Thess. i. 6-10. 



50 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

their own purposes, he begins this chapter with the 
language of caution. " Now we beseech you breth- 
ren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not 
soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spi- 
rit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that 
the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive 
you by any means ; for that day shall not come, ex- 
cept there come a falling away first, and that man of 
sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth 
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or 
is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the Tem- 
ple of God, showing himself that he is God." 

These words evidently teach us that, before the 
second coming of the Lord, there should be a great 
apostacy on the part of a large body of professing 
Christians, — and also, the setting up of an influence, 
nominally religious, which would be in opposition to 
God, and to the purity and truth of the Gospel. Our 
Lord also taught that many would come in his name, 
to delude multitudes, — and accompanied with such 
plausible pretences and signs, as to deceive, if it were 
possible, the very elect. St. John in his Epistles 
speaks of Antichrist, and in the highly figurative 
language of the Apocalypse represents the formida- 
ble corrupters of the truth and enemies of righteous- 
ness who would successively make war with the 
Lamb and his followers ; and also the signal defeat 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 51 

and ruin which shall overwhelm them at the appear- 
ance of Him who has " on his vesture and on his 
thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord 
of Lords." 

The view given in the Revelations of the destruc- 
tion of antichristian powers — the enemies of God 
and the Lamb, — is perfectly in harmony with what 
St. Paul says in this chapter of the destruction of 
the man of sin — the son of perdition — that Wicked 
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his 
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his 
coming. 

The prophecy in the text and context, as it appears 
to me, relates to the great Papal Apostacy — its de- 
lusions and abominations — its blinding and ruinous 
influence upon multitudes of souls — and its signal 
destruction at the coming of the Lord. But we shall 
not, in this course of Lectures, confine our attention 
exclusively to this view of the subject ; but pro- 
pose to notice all those great antichristian movements 
and systems which the Scriptures speak of as pre- 
ceding the solemnities of the second Advent 

I. The first we notice is Moha?nmedanis?7i. This 
cannot be strictly called an apostacy in the Church ; 
yet was it a mighty religious movement in which 
the interests of Christianity were, to a great extent, 
involved. Its holy book professes great respect for 
Moses and Christ, as inspired messengers of God ; 



52 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

and its blasphemous author claimed to be the Par' 
aclete or Comforter, whom Jesus promised to send 
to his disciples.* 

"In the year of our Lord 606, Mohammed began 
to profess a very extraordinary intercourse with 
God : declaring that the angel Gabriel was frequently 
sent to him, to teach a religion which he was to pro- 
pagate in the world, being an improving and perfect- 
ing both of the religion of Moses and of Jesus as at 
first delivered, and a reformation of them from sub- 
sequent abuses and corruptions." 

Mohammedanism is a religion which strongly as- 
serts the unity of God, and holds all idolatry to be 
an abomination. With some excellent precepts of 
virtue, chiefly drawn from the Jewish and Christian 
Scriptures, it has mingled up silly fables and defect- 
ive morals ; and, in accommodation to the corruption 
of human nature, it holds out to its followers and 
supporters the promise of a sensual paradise. 

This religion was propagated with wonderful ra- 
pidity by conquest and the sword. The Koran, 
tribute, or the sword, were the only alternatives held 
out to opposing nations. Its followers were taught 
that " a drop of blood shed in the cause of religion, 
a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two 
months spent in fasting and prayer. Whoever falls 

*It is supposed that he mistook UxpctnX^To^ Comforter, for 
risptKXvTof, very illustrious. 



MOHAMMEDANISM and popery. £3 

in battle his sins are forgiven ; at the day of judg- 
ment his wounds shall be resplendent as Vermillion 
and odoriferous as musk ; and the loss of his limbs 
shall be supplied with the wings of angels and 
cherubim." This delusion overran several countries 
where Christianity had been established ; prostrated 
the churches, or converted them into mosques ; and 
to this day, in extensive regions of the East, the 
crescent is triumphant over the cross. 

We might well suppose that the rise and progress 
of an enemy to the Gospel so formidable as this 
would receive some notice in those prophecies which 
foretold the fortunes of the Church. Accordingly 
we find the rise and progress of this grand impos- 
ture distinctly foretold, though in symbolical lan- 
guage, in the 9th chapter of the Apocalypse. "And 
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from 
heaven unto the earth ; and to him was given the 
key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bot- 
tomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, 
as the smoke of a great furnace : and the sun and the 
air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit." 

A star, in prophetical language, means a Christian 
Minister, — or Bishop. It Cannot be applicable to 
Mohammed, who had never been a minister of Christ. 
Some commentators, among whomjs Mr. Faber, sup- 
pose that the fallen star indicates Sergius or Baheira, 
an apostate Nestorian Monk, who assisted Moham- 
6 






54 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

med in forging his imposture, and preparing the 
Koran. But we are of opinion that some more dis- 
tinguished ecclesiastic, or rather ecclesiastical power 
is intended ; and who, more probably than those 
Bishops under whose fostering care the invocation of 
saints, the worship of pictures and images, and other 
idolatrous practices, had been introduced and sup- 
ported in the Christian Church ? Those ecclesiasti- 
cal governors had fallen from the purity of the faith : 
and the corruption of the church — an event so disas- 
trous — might be aptly compared to the opening of 
the mouth of the bottomless pit — or hell itself — from 
whence proceeded those dark and noxious exhalations 
which obscured the sun, and infected the air. The 
idolatrous corruptions of the church had reached an 
alarming pitch at the commencement of the seventh 
century, and thus prepared the way for Mohammed- 
anism, — which was emphatically the scourge of 
Idolatrous Christians. 

Writers upon prophecy have shown, how, in 
every minute particular, the predictions of the 9th 
chapter of the Revelations relating to " scorpions 
with stings in their tails" — the ravages they should 
commit, — and the length of their continuance, were 
fulfilled in the history of the Saracens, by whom 
Mohammed effected his triumphs, and spread the 
dominion of the Koran. They have also shown how 
those relating to " Euphratean horsemen" were ac- 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 55 

complished by their successors — the Turks or Oth- 
mans, who, to this day, preserve the ascendency 
of the religion of the false prophet in some of the fair- 
est portions of the East, including Palestine itself.* 

* '* The locusts had on their heads as it viere, crowns like gold : the 
Arabs have constantly worn turbans; and even boast that they 
wear, as their common attire, those ornaments which among- other 
people are the peculiar badges of royalty. The locusts had faces as 
the face of men, and hair as the hair of women : the Arabs, as Pliny 
testifies, wore their beards, or at least their mustachios, as men ; 
while their hair was flowing- or plaited, like that of women. Th© 
teeth of the locusts were as the teeth of a lion; an expression fre 
quently used in Scripture to denote great strength : Ps. lviii. 6. The 
sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing 
to battle: to represent at once the rapid conquests of the Saracens and 
their proverbial skill in horsemanship ; and they had stings in their 
tails like scorpions; to signify that they should carry along with 
them wherever they flew, a loathsome and deadly superstition. 
The power of the locusts to hurt men teas for five months ; taking 
these for prophetic months— a day for a year — the period is 150 years. 
The Saracens are supposed to have commenced their ravages about 
A. D. 612, consequently the five prophetic months expired in the 
year 762, when the Caliph Almansor built Bagdad, as the future seat 
of his empire, and called it the city of peace. At this period the Sar- 
acens ceased from their locust devastations, and became a settled 
people." [Faber on the Prophecies, pp. 289-291.] "A command was 
given to Apollyon and his symbolical locusts that they should not 
hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree. Accord- 
ingly it was the special injunction of Abubeker to the Saracens, 
that they destroy no palm trees, nor burn any fields of corn; that 
they should cut down no fruit trees, nor injure any cattle except 
such as they killed to eat." "The Saracens continued to pos- 
sess, though they did not extend their dominions, till the Turks sup - 
planted them, and all this time properly belongs to the first wo trum- 
pet. The Turks pouring into Persia and the regions bounding on 
the Euphrates, in the 11th century, established four sultanies or 



56 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

They were commanded not to hurt those who had 
" the seal of God in their foreheads :" and accord- 
ingly, they were never victorious over any branch 
of the Church where corruption and idolatry had 
not established their sway.* 

Mohammedanism seems to have been used, in the 
Providence of God, to inflict chastisement upon cor- 

kingdoms in those parts. They were prevented from making- fur- 
ther conquests by the Crusades. But when those ruinous projects 
were finally abandoned, the four angels— symbols of the four sulta- 
nies— were loosed. Then the Turks, uniting- together, began their 
ravages and victories; and made great havoc among the inhabitants 
of that part of the world which had constituted the Roman Empire, 
and which we have often read of as ' the third part of men.' These 
powers were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a 
year. This fixed time being computed by a year for each day, ac- 
cording to the prophetic manner, and twelve months of thirty days 
each being allowed to the year here mentioned, that is 3G0 prophetic 
days — or years ; thirty more being added for the month, and one for 
the day, the whole amounts to 391 years and fifteen days. Now 
the first conquest of the Turks over the Christians took place A. D. 
1281 : and the last success by which they extended their dominions 
was A. D. 1G72, being exactly 391 years from the one to the other. 
The number of the army of horsemen were two hundred thousand thou- 
sand, or two hundred millions. The Turks often brought into the 
field armies of from four to seven hundred thousand men, chiefly 
cavalry; when we consider the whole multitude employed during 
the contest of 391 years, we see the propriety of the Apostle's strong 
prophetical language." Scott's commentaries on the 9th chapter 
Revelations, passim. 

* " When the Saracens approached Savoy, Piedmont, and the 
southern provinces of France, which had been but little tainted with 
the general disease, and which were afterwards the seat of the Wal- 
denses and the Albigenses, they were defeated with great slaughter 
by Charles Martel in several engagements." Faber. 



Mohammedanism and popery. 5* 

rtipt and idolatrous Christian Churches. Its armies 
scorched them as with fire : their stroke was like 
the sting of scorpions ; and by them " a third part 
of men was killed $" that is, a third part of the Ro- 
man Empire was overrun, and the corrupt Churches 
of the East were almost entirely exterminated. 
" But" says the inspired writer — " the rest of the 
men, which were not killed by these plagues, yet 
repented not of the works of their hands, that they 
should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and sil- 
ver, and brass, and stone, and of wood ; which neither 
can see, nor hear, nor walk." Notwithstanding 
these severe scourgings, the worship of images, and 
saints, and pictures, and the Virgin — so offensive to 
God, and so hostile to the spirit and precepts of the 
gospel, still continues to be practised in many parts 
of Christendom. 

The religion of the false prophet has now conti- 
nued for more than twelve hundred years. Founded 
in falsehood, it has been sustained chiefly by terror 
and the sword : but the same book which graphically 
foretold its rise arid progress, has also, under the 
figure of " the drying up of the Euphrates," and 
other metaphors, distinctly announced its decline 
and overthrow. Even now, according to the repre- 
sentation of recent travellers, it totters to its fall. It 
is fast losing its hold upon the affections of the rulers 
as well as the subjects of the Turkish Empire ; its 



58 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

mosques are crumbling to decay 5 and ere long, either 
by the operation of God's blessing upon ordinary 
causes, by the movements of Christian governments, 
or by the direct and marvellous interposition of Di- 
vine power, it will, — as we firmly believe — be over- 
thrown, and sunk in the pit whence it emanated. 
II. It is a painful and humiliating task to be obliged 
to say any thing which may be considered dishon- 
orable to our holy religion ; or to dwell upon points 
which necessarily involve an exposure of the errors, 
vices, and crimes of the professed friends and sup- 
porters of Christianity. But the evangelical narra- 
tive has not thrown the veil of oblivion over the dia- 
bolical treason of Judas, the guilty equivocation and 
denials of Peter, or the criminal weakness of the 
other Apostles. St Paul, in his epistles > did not 
hesitate to expose the false doctrines, the wicked 
schisms, the fierce contentions, the shameful disor- 
ders and vices that existed among the Christians at 
Corinth. So neither is it difficult to perceive in the 
prophetical parts of Scripture, predictions of the 
heresies, corruptions, and apostacies that would 
sprang up in the bosom of the Church in the latter 
days. And as our object is to ascertain what the 
Scriptures really teach, it is obligatory on us to no- 
tice them. 

You will bear me witness, brethren, that I am not 
fond of controversial discussions, and that, when 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 69 

driven to engage in them, it is not my custom to 
indulge in language of vituperation and abuse. I 
may condemn a system of superstition and error, 
without any breach- of charity towards the commu- 
nities or individuals by whom it is upheld. I may 
expose the false opinions and corrupt practices of a 
fellow Christian, but yet reprove him as a friend, 
and love him as a brother. I can make a distinction 
between his character and his opinions, — his person 
and his faults. 

You need not be informed that a large number of 
Protestant commentators believe the Papal Church 
of Rome to be the "Antichrist" of St. John, the 
"Man of Sin" of St. Paul, the "Little horn" of 
Daniel — and the " Babylon, the Mother of harlots 
and abominations of the earth" of the Revelations. 
Of the truth, or falsity of this interpretation of 
Scripture it is not necessary that I should express a 
positive opinion. I would not rashly or harshly 
condemn any community bearing the Christian name. 
But, at the same time, I should be unfaithful to the 
interests of truth, not to utter a note of warning 
against a system of error, superstition and tyranny 
— tremendous in its character and wide in its extent, 
— subtle in its machinations, insidious in its arts, and 
deadly in its influence, — and against which, as I 
firmly believe, the Holy Scriptures protest in the. 
most decided terms of condemnation. 



5u Mohammedanism and pope&y. 

Let us examine some of the particulars in this 
chapter, and other portions of the New Testament, 
relating to corruptions which were to arise in the 
Church before the second coming of our Lord. 

That the evil of which the Apostle speaks in the 
chapter before us, under the appellations "man of 
sin," "son of perdition," and "wicked," is not an 
enemy that would assail the Church from without, 
is manifest from his speaking of it in connexion with 
"a falling away" or apostacy, and also, from his 
representing it as sitting in the "Temple of God" — 
or Church of Christ. He speaks of "the mystery of 
iniquity" as already working, in the Church, which 
would eventually produce that fearful system of de- 
lusion to which he referred, when existing restraints 
should be removed. 

What description does the Apostle give of that 
system of corrupted Christianity which he personi- 
fied as the "Man of sin?" "He oppose th and ex- 
alteth himself against all that is called God, or is 
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth himself in the 
Temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 
Now some would infer from this, that St. Paul speaks 
of some professedly Atheistic power, not only repu- 
diating Christianity, but taking the attitude of avow- 
ed hostility to the true God, and setting himself up 
in his stead, as the only proper object of worship. 
But this would be a forced and constrained interpre- 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. &1 

tation of the passage; for the "Wicked" of whom 
the Apostle speaks, sitteth in the Temple of God, 
that is, as we think — remains in the Christian Church: 
Whereas a system of avowed Atheism, or of idola- 
ter, would not only be without the Christian Church, 
but in open and professed hostility to it. The title 
"Gods" is sometimes given in Scripture to magis- 
trates and earthly sovereigns; and the Apostle here 
describes the rise of some formidable despotism 
which, under the Christian name, would claim supe- 
riority to all earthly powers — asserting prerogatives. 
and claiming homage and obedience, which rightfully 
belong to God only. 

Now, it is an unquestionable historical fact that 
the Bishop of Rome, originally on a par with other 
Bishops, gradually usurped powers and prerogatives 
inconsistent with the equality which Christ ordained 
among the highest order of his ministers ; till about 
the same time, if not in the very year, that Moham- 
med publicly proclaimed himself to be a Prophet, 
he received from the Emperor Phocas, and appro- 
priated to himself, the title of Universal Bishop* 

When the power that "let," or hindered, suppos- 
ed to have been the Roman Empire, was divided, or 
"taken out of the way," then this terrific despotism 

•** I confidently affirm," says Gregory 1st. Bishop of Rome, "that 
whoso calls himself Universal Bishop, is a forerunner of Antichrist. 
It is too proud for a Christian : it belongs to him who fell through 
pride." 



62 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

was more fully "revealed." The Pope claimed, as 
of divine right, many honors and powers that had 
been conceded to him merely on the ground of cour- 
tesy as Bishop of the capital of the empire. He con- 
verted other Bishops, who by divine institution 
were his equals, into menials and vassals, — subject 
to his dictates, amenable to his authority, and exer- 
cising their spiritual prerogatives only by his grace 
and favour. Even to this day, and in this country, 
the prelates of that schism, instead of being Bishops 
of an independent branch of the Church Catholic, 
are but the Vicars and servants of the Bishop of 
Rome. Thus exalting himself in the Temple of 
God, he placed himself at the head of all ecclesiasti- 
cal authority and power, and, as professed Vicar of 
Christ on earth, impiously assuming infallibility, he 
exercised prerogatives and received homage which 
rightfully belong to Christ only. Swaggering like 
Jupiter upon the top of Olympus, he fulminated his 
thunders, inflicted the pains of excommunication, 
and delivered over to perdition, all Bishops and 
Churches who protested against his usurpations, or 
refused to comply with his mandates. 

But this was not all. The bearer of the triple 
crown at length claimed jurisdiction over earthly 
sovereigns. He deposed Kings and Princes, released 
subjects from their allegiance, — dispensed with the 
obligation of oaths, — and claimed abject obedience 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 63 

and submission from all principalities and powers, 
whether in Church or State. Was not this "sitting; 
in the Temple of God/' and showing himself as if 
he were God, in receiving the homage of a subju- 
gated world prostrate at his feet ?* 

* It is well known that after the destruction of the western branch 
of the imperial power — which " let" or hindered the revelation of 
the man of sin, the Bishop of Rome assumed the Pagan title of Pon- 
tiferMaximus, which had before been used by the Emperors from the 
days of Augustus Caesar. The Popes also have received at their in- 
auguration or coronation— the divine titles of "Rector orbis" — Ru- 
ler of the world. " Sanctissimus et beatissimus Pater" — most holy 
and most blessed Father. "Sanctissimus Dominus" — Most holy Lord. 
The Rev. J. Gordon, a regular bred Jesuit, in a work published in 
1723, giving " an historical account of the present state of Rome, the 
election of the late Pope Clement XI, the proceedings of the Jesuits 
in China, and also in England and other Protestant countries" — 
says in his account of the election of Cardinal Albani (Clement XI) 
" he was declared vicar of Christ, and adored as such by the Cardi- 
nals, who, when they kiss his toe, say, according to the laudable 
phrase of the council of Lateran (Dominus Deus Noster Papa.) 
'Thou art God on earth, and as God I adore thee, &c.' which is the 
first act of recognizance." Mr. Lawrence Banck, in his account of 
the inauguration of Pope Innocent X, of which he was an eye and 
ear witness, says ' the Prince and Cardinal Mediceus, Deacon a dex- 
tris, placed on his' (the Pope's) head the Tiara called Regnum, 
adorned with a triple crown, with these words — 'Jlccipe Tiaram tribus 
Coronis ornatam ; et scias te esse patrem Principum et Regnum : Rec- 
torem Orbis: In terra Vicarium salvatoris nostris Jesu Christi, cui sit 
honor et gloria in secula seculorum — Amen. Receive the Tiara adorned 
with three crowns, and know that then thou art Father of Princes 
and Kings, Ruler of the world, in earth Vicar of our Saviour, 
Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever — Amen ! 
These are clear proofs that the Pope is called not only « Ruler of the 
world' but even 'Dominus Deus Noster Papa'— The Lord our God 



'84 Mohammedanism and popery. 

We speak not of individual Popes. Good men 
may have borne the office at times — though, alas ! 
many of them were of a very different character ! 
but we refer to that gigantic system of antichris- 
tian despotism under whose fostering care the in- 
vocation of saints, the veneration of images, the fable 
of purgatory, the monstrous figment of transubstan- 
tiation, — and the idolatrous worship of the host and 
the Virgin, with all their correlative corruptions and 
abominations — have been employed to quench the 
spirit and crush out the vitals of Christianity. 

The Apostle further informs us, that the progress 
of the man of sin "is after the working of Satan, 
with all power, and signs, and lying wonders. 5 ' 
Does not this language remind us of the gross frauds, 
impositions, and necromancy, which, under the name 
of miracles, have been used, without scruple, to sus- 
tain the power of the Papacy and keep the ignorant 
in vassalage to that degrading system ? 

There are other passages of Scripture which refer 
to this " falling away' 5 from the faith and purity of 
the Gospel as following " the doctrines and command- 
ments of men," encouraging the ' worship of angels,' 
and will worship, and humility, and neglecting of 
the body. 55 * " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly 

the Pope ! ! H Horrible blasphemy ! Vide. Granville Sharp's in- 
quiry whether the Babylon described in Rev. xviii, means Rome as 
a city? p. 50. App. 14-15. 

*Coloss. ii. 23. 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 65 

that in the latter times some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, forbidding to 
marry, and abstaining from meats."* We need not 
remind you how these marks of the apostacy have 
been exhibited in the withholding of the Scriptures 
from the people, — in the forced celibacy of the 
Clergy, and of the Monks, and of the Nuns, — and 
in the supposed meritorious fastings, penances, and 
mortifications on which such multitudes rely for sal- 
vation, instead of building their hopes upon the mer- 
its of Christ alone, and submitting to the renewing 
influence of the Holy Spirit. 

Nor is it necessary to remind you what a comment 
is afforded by the sanguinary records of the Inquisi- 
tion in Spain and Portugal and Goa, — by the horri- 
ble massacre of St. Bartholomew's day in France, 
and the flames of Smithfield in England, — (all in 
different countries, and at different periods, yet 
under the guidance of the same terrible power,) — 
upon that fearful passage in the Apocalypse which 
speaks of her who was " drunk with the blood of 
the martyrs of Jesus." 

It affords us no pleasure to speak of these things. 
We would gladly pass over them were it possible to 
do so consistently with our avowed purpose to notice 
the leading events mentioned in the prophecies of 
the New Testament as antecedents of the second 

*1. Tim.iv. 1-3. 



6 6 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

coming of our Lord. For although the advocates of 
the corrupt system of Christianity alluded to de- 
nounce all the ministers and members of the Re- 
formed Churches, — together with those of the Greek 
and other Oriental Churches, — (comprising about 
three-fifths of the Holy Catholic Church,) — as here- 
tics, and consign us over to perdition, — we would not 
recriminate or return railing for railing. On the con- 
trary, we would give blessings for a curse, — and pray 
for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. 

We are far from asserting that the Church of Rome 
is the Antichrist, to the exclusion of other systems 
of delusion more erroneous and wicked. For we 
consider this as a generic term, including all sys- 
tems of error and wickedness opposed to the will 
and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We acknowledge her to be a part, but a corrupt 
part of the Church of Christ. We believe that she 
has had, and still has, many devout and pious souls 
in her communion who, through grace, maintain the 
life of godliness in spite of the disadvantages of their 
position. So far as she retains what is truly Catho- 
lic in her creeds, worship and ministry, we commend 
her. It is only so far as she is Papal and corrupt that 
we condemn her. We bless God that our branch of 
the Church Universal is liberated from the galling, 
unscriptural yoke of a foreign Prince and Prelate, 
and has reformed away the false doctrines, idola- 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 67 

trous rites, and superstitious fooleries that once de- 
formed her. We should rejoice to see the Romish 
Church following her example by returning to the 
truly Catholic standard of primitive times. But we 
fear this is too much to hope for. For, however 
much she may be modified and restrained by circum- 
stances, when struggling for existence and growth 
amidst the evangelical light and free institutions of 
a Protestant country, — the errors which need reform 
are so deeply grafted into her system as to be essen- 
tial to her existence ; and although, from time to 
time, i God's people may come out from her, that 
they be not partakers of her plagues,' — yet her 
proud claim to infallibility and unchangeableness is 
an effectual bar to her reformation. If not reformed, 
we believe she is destined to be overthrown. We 
may have mistaken the meaning of prophecy ; and 
if so, we pray God to forgive it as a mistake of igno- 
rance, not of wilfulness. But if we are not mistaken, 
this spiritual Babylon, which has so long been 
exulting in her pride and luxury, her wealth and 
power, must fall. Her doom is written by the pen 
of inspiration. e The Lord will consume her by the 
spirit of his mouth, and destroy her with the bright- 
ness of his coming!' 

While meditating upon these awful themes of pro- 
phecy, we should not only watch against the indul- 
gence of an uncharitable proscriptive spirit, and be 



68 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 

careful to love the persons of men even in condemn- 
ing their errors ; — but we should also carefully guard 
against the insidious influence of a proud self-eom- 
placent feeling, as if we were the exclusive favorites 
of heaven, and the Protestant world, of which we 
form a part, were free from all that is offensive in 
the sight of God. There are other systems, as those 
of Infidelity and Atheism, for example, which are 
far more odious and pernicious than any forms of 
superstition and error which have yet passed under 
our review. In the factions, schisms, and heresies — 
in the contempt of authority, the resistance of law, 
the spirit of rebuke and blasphemy, which mark 
these " last days," — we may find existing evils, no 
less distinctly predicted in prophecy — no less anti- 
christian in their character, than the corruptions of Po- 
pery, or the abominations of the Arabian imposture. 

It was our design to have finished this branch of 
the subject on the present occasion; but so much 
time has been occupied already, that it must be de- 
ferred till the next Sunday evening. 

And now, friends and brethren, — what shall we 
say to you in conclusion ? Is it enough that we call 
your attention to the prominent evils which the pro- 
phetic spirit foretold ? Is it enough that we enable 
you to perceive a fulfilment of God ? s word in the 
monstrous antichristian systems which have esta- 
blished their baleful power on earth, and are to be 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND POPERY. 69 

destroyed at the coming of our Lord ? Wo be to 
us if we make the study of prophecy a matter 
of speculation, and attend to it merely to gratify our 
curiosity ! We should make it a matter of deep per- 
sonal concern, having a direct bearing upon our spi- 
ritual welfare and our everlasting destiny. When 
Jesus shall come again, it will be to deal not only 
with nations and communities, but with individuals 
also. ' We must all stand before the judgment seat 
of Christ, and every one of us give an account of 
himself to God.' He will not only overthrow false 
systems, — but sentence all impenitent sinners to 
everlasting destruction from his presence, and from 
the glory of his power. 

In the great contest between light and darkness — 
holiness and corruption — God and Antichrist — every 
individual of our race is actively engaged on the one 
side or on the other. Which cause have we es- 
poused ? On which side are we doing battle ? If, 
as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we are fighting un- 
der his banner against sin, the world and the devil — 
when the Lord cometh, we shall receive a crown of 
life. But if we remain worldly, careless, impeni- 
tent, and unconverted, we shall be numbered amongst 
his enemies, and have our portion with the workers 
of iniquity. 

May we all 'give diligence to make our calling 
and election sure!' May 'our lorns be girded about, 
7* 






70 MOHAMMEDANISM AND POfEKtV 



— our lamps trimmed and burning, — and we oar- 
selves like those who wait for the coming of their 
Lord!' For behold, He cometh — and blessed are 
they who shall be prepared for his earning! 



LECTURE FOURTH, 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, AND OTHER ANTI- 
CHRISTIAN INFLUENCES. 



2. Timothy, Chapter, hi. Vebse 1. 
'■' This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." 

In prosecuting our inquiry as to the leading events 
depicted in the prophetical parts of the New Testa- 
ment as antecedent to the second coming of our 
Lord, we have presented some reflections in refer- 
ence to the rise, progress, and desolating influence of 
the great Arabian Imposture — which, by the power 
of the sword, spread the dominion of the Koran 
over extensive regions of the East, and proved a ter- 
rible scourge to those Christian Churches which had 
been corrupted by false doctrines and idolatrous 
usages. We also attempted to show that the same 
prophecies which, in such graphic but metaphorical 
language describe the desolating march of the anti- 



72 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

christian system that planted the triumphant cres- 
cent upon the minarets of Constantinople, and, with 
sacrilegious feet, trampled the Holy city itself in the 
dust, — foretell its overthrow. It already totters to 
its fall, and is doomed to final destruction by the 
righteous judgment of God. 

The chief object, however, of our last lecture, 
was to ascertain the meaning of St. Paul, in the se- 
cond chapter of his second epistle to the Thessalo- 
nians, where he speaks of "a falling away" or 
apostacy in the Christian Church which would result 
in "the revelation of the man of sin — the son of 
perdition — who opposeth and exalteth himself against 
all that is called God or is worshipped, and sitteth 
himself in the Temple of God, showing himself that 
he is God." We came to the conclusion that the 
evil system here personified could not be an openly 
Atheistic, or an avowedly idolatrous one ; because it 
is described as seated in the Temple of God — or the 
Christian Church. It is a great spiritual despotism, 
nominally Christian : and what can that be but Pa- 
pal Rome? We reminded you of the important 
historical fact that, about the same time that Moham- 
med assumed the prophetical character, the Bishop of 
Rome received and appropriated to himself the title 
of Universal Bishop. Ever since, he has treated 
other Bishops, who by divine appointment are of 
equal rank with himself, as dependants on his will ;. 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 73 

so that, to this day, the prelates of the Roman obe- 
dience, instead of being Bishops of independent 
branches of the Catholic Church of Christ — are, even 
in this free land, dependant for their Jurisdiction 
upon a foreign Prince, and in abject vassalage to the 
Pope of Rome. He arrogates to himself infallibility 
and universal power in ecclesiastical matters ; thus 
receiving the homage and claiming the prerogatives 
which belong to our Lord Jesus Christ — the only 
Head of the Church universal. Not content with 
this, he also, in process of time, set himself above 
all that are ( called Gods' — as earthly magistrates and 
rulers. He deposed sovereigns,* released subjects 
from their allegiance, discharged them from the obli- 
gations of oaths, — and not only dispensed pardon, 

* That this power of the pope, to depose sovereigns at his pleasure, 
was often claimed and exercised, history fully attests :— and that all 
who did not firmly and inviolably believe it as an article of faith were 
declared excommunicate, is manifest from a Bull of Pope Boniface 
the eighth, an extract from which we now give. " Infallibili auc- 
toritate, nobis a Spiritu Sancto divinitus communicata, omnes et 
singulos utriusque sexus excommunicatos declaramus qui non fir- 
miter ac inviolabiliter crediderint Nostram Auctoritatem Su- 
per Omnes Principes Terr.e, in iis excommunicandis, Et Ad 
Libitum Deponendis," &c. By the infallible authority, divinely 
imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, we declare all and each of both 
sexes excommunicated who do not firmly and inviolably believe 

OUR AUTHORITY OVER ALL PRINCES OF THE EARTH, in exCOHimu- 

nicating and deposing them at pleasure, &c. 

The reader of history will be at no loss in calling" to memory 
many facts illustrative of the other allegations contained in the par- 
agraph to which this note is appended. 



74 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

but even sold indulgences for sin. Thus having all 
ecclesiastical and civil dominions in subjection at his 
feet, exercising powers and claiming prerogatives 
which rightfully belong to Christ only, and receiving 
adoration and titles which cannot without blasphemy 
be applied to any but the supreme God, — is he not 
truly characterised as 'seated in the Temple of God, 
showing himself that he is God V 

Other prophecies of the New Testament, to which 
we adverted, describe other features of this great 
corruption of Christianity. They speak of the false 
doctrines, the superstitious usages, the idolatrous 
rites, the wicked oppressions, the bloody persecutions 
with which the Church of God has been afflicted un- 
der the sway of this gigantic and fearful tyranny. 

It is a mournful task to the pious mind to be 
obliged to dwell upon such perversions and abuses of 
our holy religion. But what the tongue of prophecy 
predicted the faithful pen of history has recorded. 
And while fidelity to the truth compels us to expose 
the errors of our fellow Christians, we should do it, 
not in the spirit of bitterness and invective, but in 
that of meekness and love. We should distinguish 
between the faults of a system and the characters 
and the persons of the individuals by whom it is ig- 
norantly upheld. We should pray that they may be 
reclaimed to the purity of a truly Catholic system, 
and fervently desire the arrival of that day when all 
who " call themselves Christians may hold the faith in 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 75 

unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in right- 
eousness of life." 

We now invite you to the contemplation of other 
times and scenes, widely different from those which 
have already passed under our review. " This 
know that in the Last Days perilous times shall 
come." 

In speaking of important events to take place 
under the dispensation of the Messiah, the inspired 
writers refer to different periods, under the phrases 
"latter times," and "last times;" — the one in the 
comparative, the other in the superlative degree. 
In the Old Testament, where both phrases are trans- 
lations of the same words in the original Hebrew, — 
it is enough that we consider them as applicable to 
the times of the Christian dispensation at large : 
although in some of the prophecies they are used 
with a more definite and specific application, as we 
shall have occasion to show hereafter. 

But in the New Testament they are translations 
of two different phrases in the original Greek, and 
always, as we believe, designate two different and 
distinct periods in the history of the Christian Church. 
By "latter times"* the period of superstition and 
spiritual despotism is intended: on the other hand, 
by "the last days"t the period of infidelity, heresy, 
and confusion is intended. 

* varjepot xctipot. t ecrxotjoti yuepect. 



76 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

The characteristic traits of the former period have 
been sufficiently noticed, and we now pass on to 
give a hasty sketch of the greater abominations, and 
the more deadly evils which the pen of inspiration 
ascribes to the latter. 

Before, however, we open that gloomy page of 
prophecy — it is proper that our minds should have a 
little respite from the painful and humiliating feel- 
ings which our last theme has awakened, — by look- 
ing upon that illuminated and lovely scene which, in 
the chart of prophecy, occupies an intervening space, 
between the dark domain of superstition, on the one 
hand, — and the still darker territory of infidelity, 
heresy, and confusion, on the other. 

In the most ignorant and corrupt ages of the 
Church there were some "faithful among the faith- 
less found." Even amidst that gloomy night of 
superstition called "the dark ages" there were some 
who watched the vestal lamp which God had lighted 
in his Church, and prevented the light of truth and 
the fires of devotion from being utterly extinguished. 
The Waldenses and the Albigenses who, under the 
persecutions of Rome and protesting against its cor- 
ruption, — maintained the purity of Christian faith 
and practice, — were in spiritual fellowship with 
hundreds and thousands of God's secret ones who, 
though in the bosom of that Church and mourning 
over its antichristian errors and tyranny, yet main- 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 77 

tained communion with the Saviour, and walked 
before God in faith, and holiness, and love. They 
were like brilliant stars which here and there dart 
their rays through the interstices of a clouded sky. 
These faithful ones, represented under the figure of 
"the woman" or Church "in the wilderness," are 
supposed by Faber, Scott, and others to be referred 
to in the fourteenth chapter of the Apocalypse 
where St. John describes a vision of "the Lamb 
upon Mount Zion," a figure of the Church, "sur- 
rounded by one hundred and forty-four thousand 
who had not received the mark of the beast, but 
having the Father's name written upon their fore- 
heads." He heard them harping with their harps, 
and singing a new song before the throne. "These 
were they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he 
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, 
being the first fruits unto God and the Lamb. And 
in their mouth was found no guile; for they are 
without spot before the throne of God."* 

The prayers, and groans, and songs of those fol- 
lowers of the Lamb, who remained faithful to the 
cause of truth and holiness amidst the night of super- 
stition, were not in vain. Those stars, shining in a 
dark firmament, proved the harbingers of a brighter 
day which soon dawned and poured its lustre upon the 
world. "I saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven, 

* Rev. xiv. 1-5. 
8 



78 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that 
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, 
and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, 
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his 
judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven, 
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is 
fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all 
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her forni- 
cation. And the third angel followed them, saying 
with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and 
his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or 
in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the 
wrath of God, poured out without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation." "And I heard a voice from 
heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord from henceforth."* 

The proclamations of these three successive angels 
are represented in the vision as preparing the way 
for the coming of the Son of Man, who is represent- 
ed as seated upon a cloud, having a sickle in his 
hand with which he reaps the harvest of the world. 
Then follows a figurative representation of those 
desolating judgments of God upon antichristian 
powers, and those exaltations and triumphs of the 
Church which are to accompany and follow the 
second advent of our Lord. 

* Rev. xiv. 6-13. 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 79 

Some expositors of the prophecies suppose that by 
these three angels are intended the leading Refor- 
mers ; — others consider them as symbols of the re- 
formed Churches in different countries, bearing dif- 
ferent testimony against the errors of a corrupt and 
tyrannical superstition ; and others again, think they 
are designed to represent the original work of the 
Reformers in waking up a slumbering Church — 
the subsequent work of Bible Societies in the uni- 
versal circulation of the Holy Scriptures — and the 
work of Missionary Societies in causing the Gospel 
to be preached throughout the world. 

But it is sufficient for our understanding of the 
subject, — without entering into such minute appli- 
cations, — to consider the proclamations of the three 
different angels as representing the various ends 
which God designs to accomplish by means of the 
glorious Reformation. 

The Reformation was not the setting up of a new 
Church on earth, or the publication of a new religion. 
Such is the representation given of it by its enemies. 
But it was, in fact, merely a restoration of the Church 
to its primitive purity, and the release of the truth 
from the manacles and fetters of error which a cor- 
rupt superstition had fastened upon her. 

That this part of the Apocalyptic visions refers to 
the period of the Reformation is manifest from the 
words " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, 






80 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

from henceforth." This is not simply a declaration 
of the truth that those who die in the Lord are 
blessed or happy. That was always true from the 
beginning of time. The words from henceforth 
give the passage a more definite application. The 
meaning is, that whereas under the dark reign of 
error and superstition men dreaded the fires of pur- 
gatory, and were taught to believe that the most 
pious members of the Church must suffer for many 
years or ages after death, before entering into a state 
of happiness ; yet, from the time of the Reformation, 
when the gospel should be preached again in its pu- 
rity, men's minds would be relieved from this dread, 
and it would be known, as a precious truth, that all 
who died in the Lord would be immediately blessed. 

Another end of the Reformation would be to ex- 
pose the errors, superstitions, idolatry, and tyranny 
that had so long ruled in the Church and kept the 
minds of men in the bondage of ignorance and sin; — 
to call upon God's people to come out of the spi- 
ritual Babylon that they partake not of her plagues ; 
— and to bear faithful testimony to God's judgments 
against her and all who bear "the mark of the 
Beast." 

But the most glorious effect of this remarkable 
work of God is the diffusion of light and purity 
throughout an ignorant and corrupted world. This 
end is pictured under the figure of " an angel flying 



™ 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 81 

through the midst of heaven having the everlasting 
Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the 
earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue 
and people. 5 ' Before the extraordinary event here 
described, — the word of God, so far as the people 
were concerned, was a sealed book : the few copies 
in existence were confined to the priesthood, and 
written in a tongue not understood by the people. 
They drank only the turbid streams of tradition, 
but had no access to the unadulterated fountain of Di- 
vine truth. The Reformers translated the Scriptures 
into the vernacular languages — while, about the same 
time, the revival of letters, and the discovery of the 
art of printing facilitated their evangelical labors, 
and were the instruments, furnished in the good Pro- 
vidence of God, of securing the extension and per- 
petuity of their work. Had the Reformation accom- 
plished no more than this — had it done no more than 
to translate the Scriptures into the living tongues of 
the principal nations of Europe, it would have been 
difficult to compute the magnitude of the benefits 
thus conferred upon mankind. But, as contempora- 
neous with this, there was a revival of the work of 
preaching. The obsolete and almost exploded doc- 
trine of justification by faith, which is, emphatically, 
the distinguishing doctrine of the New Testament, 
was restored to the rank it occupied in the teaching 
of the Apostles. The zeal of primitive times seemed 
8* 



82 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C„ 

to be again rekindled upon earth. ' The Lord gave 
the word, — and a great company went forth ' preach- 
ing the Gospel of his grace amidst the effusions of 
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The good 
work has continued to spread — till, through God's 
blessing upon the labours of Bible Societies, the 
Holy Scriptures are translated into a majority of the 
languages of the nations — so that we may now say, 
almost without hyperbole, < All people may read in 
their own tongues the wonderful works of God.' 

The same Apostolic zeal which has multiplied and 
is multiplying copies of the Scriptures, and is circu- 
lating them to an almost incredible amount, — is also 
sending forth the living expounders of that word to 
proclaim among the heathen the unsearchable riches 
of Christ. We live in times when it may be truly 
said " many run to and fro, and knowledge is in- 
creased." Within the last half century efforts have 
been made to spread the Gospel far and wide unex- 
ampled since the earliest age of our holy religion. 
The Church already has her missionaries on every 
Continent, and on almost every Island. This good 
work is destined to go forward, and to be continued, 
perhaps with augmented energy and power, through 
all the conflicts and wars, — the corruptions and blas- 
phemies, — the violence and wickedness of "the last 
days." It will go forward, bearing faithful testi- 
mony to Christ and his truth— amidst the rage and 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 83 

opposition of antiehristian powers, till the Gospel 
has been preached " for a witness to all nations." 
Then cometh the end — when the Lord shall destroy 
the wicked with the breath of his mouth, and con- 
sume them with the brightness of his coming. The 
work of propagating the Gospel will go forward till 
the cry is made c Babylon is fallen ! — Babylon is 
fallen ! the beast aud the false prophet are cast into 
the bottomless pit.' That cry is but the first note of 
victory. It will speedily be followed by a louder 
shout — which will sound from heaven, and be re- 
echoed on earth — i Hallelujah ! For the Lord 
God Omnipotent reigneth : the kingdoms of 
this world are become the kingdom of our 
Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign 
for ever and ever !' 

The course of remarks in which we have now in- 
dulged in reference to the nature and effects of one 
of the most memorable events recorded in the an- 
nals of the Church, cannot properly be considered 
a digression from our main subject — for it is an 
event that will exert an important influence in pre- 
paring the way for the coming and kingdom of our 
Lord. But it is time that we proceed to the par- 
ticular theme suggested by the text — an inquiry as to 
the evils depicted in the prophecies of the New Tes- 
tament as characteristic of the last days. 

We first briefly advert to those which relate to 



84 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

u the latter times" or reign of superstition in the 
Church. " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that 
in the latter times some shall depart from the faith" 
— apostatize ; (It is the same mode of expression 
which the Apostle uses to describe " the falling 
away" from the purity of Christian faith and prac- 
tice which preceded the revelation of " the man of 
sin,") " giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines 
of devils :" more properly of demons or mediating 
spirits. Bishop Newton justly remarks that " this 
is a prophecy that the idolatrous theology of demons 
professed by the Heathen, should be revived among 
Christians." It has been fulfilled in the use of the 
mediation of saints, and of angels, and of the Virgin, 
to the neglect and dishonor of Jesus Christ — the 
only Mediator between God and man. " Forbidding 
to marry, abstaining from meats, which God hath 
created to be received with thanksgiving of them 
which believe and know the truth."* 

66 The rest of the men which were not killed by 
these plagues," (that is, the members of idolatrous 
Churches not subdued by the Mohammedan con- 
quests,) a yet repented not of the works of their 
hands, that they should not worship devils, or idols 
of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood : 
which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Neither 
repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, 
* 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 85 

nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts."* 
"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a volun- 
tary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding 
into those things which he hath not seen, vainly 
puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the 

Head; Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ 

from the rudiments of the world, why as though liv- 
ing in the world are ye subject to ordinances after 
the commandments and doctrines of men ? which 
things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, 
and humility, and neglecting of the body : not in 
any honor to the satisfying of the flesh."t " Whose 
coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, 
and signs, and lying wonders." J These predictions, 
as we believe, all refer to the period called " the lat- 
ter times" and have received a literal fulfilment in 
the fond inventions, superstitious usages, idolatrous 
practices, and false miracles of Papal Rome. 

How different in their character are the predic- 
tions which relate to "the last days?" Let us look 
at some of the most remarkable of them. "This 
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall 
come. For men shall be lovers of their ownselves, 
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient 
to parents, unthankful, unholy, — without natural 
affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, 
fierce, despisers of those that are good, — traitors, 

*Rev. ix. 20-21. \ Col. ii. 18-23. |2. Thess. ii. 9. 



86 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than 
lovers of God: having a form of godliness, but de- 
nying the power thereof; from such turn away. 
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, 
and lead captive silly women, laden with sins, led 
away with divers lusts ; ever learning and never 
able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now 
as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do 
these also resist the truth : men of corrupt minds, 
reprobate concerning the faith."* "For the time 
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 
but after their own lusts shall they heap to them- 
selves teachers, having itching ears ; and they shall 
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be 
turned unto fables."t "For there are certain men 
crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained 
to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the 
grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying 
the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ — 
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, 
despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Wo 
unto them ! for they have gone in the way of 
Cain, and run greedily after the error of Balaam for 
reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 
These be they which separate themselves, sensual, 
having not the Spirit.":}: "As ye have heard that 
Antichrist shall come, even now are there many 

*2Tim. iii. 1-8. t2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. $ Jude, 4, 8, 11, 19. 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 87 

Antichrists ; whereby we know that it is the last 
time. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus 
is the Christ ? He is Antichrist that denieth the 
Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, 
the same hath not the Father. And every spirit that 
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, 
is not of God, and this is that spirit of Antichrist, 
whereof ye have heard that it should come."* 
"But there were false prophets among the people, 
even as there shall be false teachers among you, who 
shall privily bring in damnable heresies, even deny- 
ing the Lord that bought them, and bring upon 
themselves swift destruction. And many shall fol- 
low their pernicious ways ; by reason of whom the 
way of truth shall be evil spoken of." "There 
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after 
their own lusts, and saying where is the promise of 
his coming ?"t " There shall be mockers in the last 
time.":!: 

What a tremendous array of evils — what a loath- 
some catalogue of antichristian systems and influ- 
ences is here presented to our view as characteristic 
of the Last Days of the latter times ! — the days 
that will immediately precede the glorious appearing 
and kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! How 
widely different is this from that vision of the tri- 
umph of truth and righteousness — the universal dif- 
* 1 John ii. 18, 22, 23 ; iv. 3. 1 2 Pet. ii. 1-2 ; iii. 3-4. % Jude 18. 



88 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

fusion of peace and holiness for a thousand years be- 
fore the second advent — upon which so many in our 
day are accustomed to dwell with pleasure ! 

It is impracticable and unnecessary for us to dwell 
minutely upon all the shocking and odious features 
of the last days — as exhibited in the passages which 
have now been quoted and other parallel portions of 
the sacred volume. As the result of a careful ex- 
amination, we present the following faithful ana- 
lysis of them. The great leading evils of the last 
days will be schisms, heresies, lawless violence, dis- 
order and crime — sustained by all the blasphemies 
and abominations of atheism and infidelity. These 
prominent features we will now briefly notice in their 
order. 

I. Schisms. " The time will come when they 
will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap to 
themselves teachers, having itching ears ! They 
will follow in the way of Balaam and perish in the 
gainsaying of Core," or Korah.* "These are they 
which separate themselves ; sensual having not the 
Spirit." 

It is an established principle, confirmed by all ex- 
perience, that the greatest blessings are often, 
through the wickedness of men, perverted into in- 
struments of the greatest evil. Thus the Gospel of 
life and salvation itself, through their abuse of it, 

* Numbers, xvi. 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 89 

proves to multitudes "the savour of death unto death.' 5 
Highly as we prize the glorious Reformation, — the in- 
strument of unspeakable benefits to the Church and to 
the world, — we freely admit that that great moral 
revolution which released the human mind from the 
thraldom of ignorance and superstition in which it 
had been held for ages, proved, through the influence 
of human corruption, the innocent occasion of some 
fearful evils recorded in the subsequent history of 
the world. Some were found who turned the grace 
of God into licentiousness and abused the liberty 
wherewith Christ had made them free. 

The leading Reformers had no intention of estab- 
lishing a new Church : they simply aimed at purify- 
ing the old. Their design was to sweep away what 
was the work of human wickedness and corruption, 
and to leave what was divine, untouched, in all its 
primitive beauty and integrity. 

So far as our branch of the Christian Church is 
concerned, by the good favour and providence of 
God, this design was rigidly adhered to, and carried 
into full effect. The Reformation in our mother 
Church was begun, carried on, and completed, by 
the Bishops, to whom Christ had entrusted, as chief 
shepherds, the instruction and government of his 
flock. The ministry, as originally instituted by di- 
vine authority, was retained in its three orders. The 
Liturgy was purified in conformity to the light of 
9 



90 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

Scripture, and by the aid of ancient authors. The 
Bible was re-established as the only infallible rule of 
faith — and in doctrine, worship, and discipline, the 
only model was the Holy Catholic Church of Christ, 
in her purest and best days, before the corruptions of 
Popery prevailed. 

But in some other branches of the Reformation 
there was, unhappily, a departure from the divinely 
instituted ministry and government of the Church ; 
and subsequently the work of schism and separation 
has become so common that its sinfulness is almost 
entirely overlooked. The most trifling causes have 
been deemed a sufficient justification for rending the 
body of Christ. Some have come to the conclusion 
that religion is left entirely to human regulation : 
that men have as much right to " heap to themselves 
teachers" and appoint men to act as ministers of God, 
as they have to elect civil magistrates, or to appoint 
agents and servants in their secular business; that 
they may as lawfully institute Churches as orga- 
nize political cliques or literary clubs. Separatists 
from the Church are divided and subdivided, like 
the polypus, without affecting the integrity of the 
infinitesimal divisions. Their name is Legion ; and 
it is a difficult task even to enumerate their titles, 
much more to designate the various shades of belief 
and practice by which they are distinguished. The 
heterogeneous spectacle exhibited by the sectarians, 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 91 

who have cut themselves off from the Church, calls 
forth the scorn of the enemies of religion, and should 
awaken shame and humiliation in the bosom of its 
friends. 

We speak not of the motives which have led to 
separation. We judge not the character of those 
who are thus separated. No doubt among the va- 
rious sects of modern times many of the Lord's se- 
cret and chosen ones are to be found. We know not 
to what extent God's providence may permit the 
work of separation to proceed: nor do we doubt 
that, in common with other follies and vices of men, 
it will be overruled for good. Here, as before, we 
can discriminate between the faults of systems and 
the character and condition of those by whom they 
are ignorantly upheld. We admit that many, as the 
result of education and prejudice, may involuntarily 
be in a state of schism without being chargeable with 
its guilt, because not animated by a schismatical spi- 
rit. And we can sincerely wish " grace, mercy, and 
peace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin- 
cerity," whatever name they may be called by, and 
to whatever denomination they may belong. But 
we should be unfaithful to our trust if we failed to 
speak of the work of separation as a work of the 
flesh, not of the spirit. Schism is one of the evil 
features of "the last days." It is opposed to the 
will and derogatory to the glory of our Lord Jesus 



92 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

Christ. His will is that there " should be no schism 
in the body." And all who desire the display ot his 
glory should pray for the coming of that time when 
" there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd."* 

II. Heresies constitute the next prominent point 
in our analysis of the evils which characterize " the 
last days." 

" They shall turn away their ears from the truth, 
and shall be turned unto fables." li They shall pri- 
vily bring in damnable heresies ; even denying the 
Lord that bought them ;" " denying the only Lord 
God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." " He is anti- 
christ that denieth the Father and the Son. Every 
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh, is not of God : and this is that spirit of 
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should 
come." 

Heresies may be considered as the fruitful progeny 

♦The author has spoken on this point with plainness, but, he 
hopes, not without charity. It is a point often referred to by the in- 
spired writers, but alas ! too lightly regarded by many Christians. 
Nothing can justify separation from the Church hut the imposition 
of unlawful terms of communion. Many are now in that state, who, 
if they were in the Church, would not deem themselves justified in 
cutting themselves off from her communion; because they do not 
believe her doctrines to be heretical or her ministry unauthorised. 
If then, there be no evil in the Church system which would render 
it their duty to depart from her communion if they were now in it : 
can there be anything to justify their remaining in a state of separa- 
tion because it has descended to them as an unhappy inheritance 
from their fathers^ 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 93 

of schism. The one sin is parent to the other. 
When men depart from the apostolic ministry and 
fellowship, they too commonly bid adieu to "the 
faith once delivered to the saints." Having broken 
through old established land-marks and laid aside 
the time-honored creeds of primitive days, they are 
liable to be " driven about by every wind of doc- 
trine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, 
whereby they lie in wait to deceive/ 7 This truth 
might be illustrated by reference to facts from the 
early history of Socinianism, about the period of the 
Reformation, down to the Campbellites, and Ranters, 
and Mormons of our own times. 

All false doctrines may be expected to spring up 
under the fostering care of schism. But there is one 
leading feature of heresy designated by the prophe- 
cies quoted as especially marking " the last days." 
I mean a denial of the Divinity and Atonement 
of our Lord. This is sufficiently pointed out by 
St. John as a i denying that Jesus Christ is come in 
the flesh :' that is — a denial that he had any existence 
prior to his incarnation, so that it could with truth 
be said that He " came in the flesh" to redeem and 
save. " Who is antichrist but he that denieth the 
Father and Son ?" Here the Apostle speaks not of 
Atheism — or a denial of the existence of the Divine 
Being, but a denial of the personality of the Father 
and the Son, or of the relation of paternity and 
9* 



94 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

filiation in the Godhead. The false teachers of 
this heresy are unequivocally described by St. Peter 
as " denying the Lord who bought them." This 
heresy has, within the last fifty years, broken out 
with fearful boldness and power. It has laid its 
death-spell upon the reformed communities in Ger- 
many, France and Geneva, — while the Presbyterian 
Churches in England and Scotland, and the indepen- 
dent societies planted by the orthodox pilgrims of 
New England have not escaped its withering influ- 
ence We behold it, in one region, arrayed in the 
cold drapery of philosophy, sustained and propagated 
by talent, literature, and science of the highest order; 
and in another, closely allied to ignorance, and push- 
ed forward with all the ardor of fanaticism. It is 
said that the blinded advocates of this delusion shall 
(i wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being de- 
ceived." Accordingly this heresy has grown from 
the mild Arianism and semi-Arianism of an early 
period, — to the grosser error of Socinianism : and 
not content with that as a stopping place, it has pro- 
ceeded to its fuller development, in the Neology 
and Humanit arianism of the present period — 
which speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as an erring 
r.nd peccable man — denies the inspiration of the 
Scriptures — and pours contempt upon the miracles by 
which our Holy Religion was attested. This nomi- 
nally Christian system — whose creed consists of un- 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 95 

belief — is nearly allied — in its spirit and influence, 
with that avowed infidelity and open contempt of 
things sacred and divine to which it ultimately leads, 
and which is described as its antichristian companion 
and associate amidst the evils of "the last days." 

III. The concluding division in our analysis of 
the evils of " the last days" — is Infidelity and 
Atheism — accompanied with their necessary fruits 
lawless violence, disorder, and crime. "In the last 
days there shall be scoffers, walking after their own 
lusts and saying — Where is the promise of his com- 
ing?" "'There shall be mockers in the last time, 
walking after their own ungodly lusts — denying the 
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." " In 
the last days perilous times shall come." 

The spirit of Infidelity has always existed upon 
earth, — speaking great swelling words and uttering 
blasphemies against the Most High, — from the days 
of Cain, the first unbeliever, to the present time. 
But the Scriptures lead us to believe that, in the 
last days, it will come out of its hiding places, throw 
off its cloak, and, as the last and worst form of Anti- 
christ, openly assault the principles of our faith, and 
make war against God and the Lamb. Within the 
last half century we have seen the inhabitants of the 
most refined and polished city of Europe transform- 
ed by its influence into brutes and demons. Led on 
by their philosophers and Savans, they abolished the 



96 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

Sabbath— voted in solemn assembly that there was no 
God, set up a prostitute as the goddess of their idola- 
try — put upon the gateway of the cemetery the in- 
scription "Death is an eternal sleep;" and, as if to ex- 
emplify the doctrine of devils by an imitation of their 
cruelty, — they whelmed the altar and the throne in 
a common ruin, poured forth rivers of blood at the 
foot of the guillotine, and permitted neither beauty, 
nor innocence, nor virtue to afford any protection 
against a slaughter that would have disgraced the 
butchery of the sty ! 

There are some here old enough to remember the 
events of that reign of terror — the appalling fruits of 
that brief dominion of Atheism unrestrained. Men 
stood aghast as they heard the sounds and felt the 
heavings of that moral earthquake. It was as if 
some mighty volcanic mountain had burst, and poured 
its desolating streams of burning lava over all civi- 
lized countries of the earth. 

Ever since the first French Revolution the spirit 
of Infidelity and Atheism has been rife in the world. 
It has descended from the chair of the Philosopher 
to the cottage of the Peasant, to the loom of the 
crowded manufactory, and to the work-bench of the 
Mechanic. It breathes its pestilence in the strains 
of Poesy, — whispers its scepticism in our books of 
Science, — infuses its poison into our popular litera- 
ture, — and scatters the seeds of corruption and death 



HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 97 

by the busy and ever active machinery of the periodi- 
cal press. We no longer look at it in merely iso- 
lated and individual examples, but behold it com- 
bining its energies, and putting forth its aggregate 
power to delude and curse mankind in the societies 
and clubs of Socialists, Chartists, and Agrarians, both 
in the old world, and in the new. 

Do you ask what are its practical fruits? Behold 
them in the sundering of the nuptial tie — the tramp- 
ling upon all natural affections and relationships — 
the disruption of all the sacred links which bind 
society together! Behold them in the multiplied 
breaches of contracts and trusts ; in the acts of for- 
gery, and theft, and fraud, — in the midnight assassi- 
nations, and brutal murders, which are becoming so 
common that they almost cease to shock us : Behold 
them in the mobs, and riots, and outbreaks of popu- 
lar violence — which show an impatience of restraint, 
and a reckless contempt of the laws, both of God 
and man. 

Would it be possible for the pen of history, in 
recording the fearful iniquities of this guilty and 
hardened generation, to give a more faithful por- 
traiture than the pen of prophecy has done in this 
chapter, in predicting the evils of "the last days?" 

0! what would be the condition of this sinful 
world if the pure light and restraining influence of 
the Gospel of Christ were to be withdrawn from it? 



98 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

But "when the enemy comes in like a flood, the 
Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against 
him." That standard still floats in the van of the 
sacramental host. Soon victory will be seen perch- 
ing upon it. In the contemplation of themes, such 
as have now demanded our attention, and in the 
midst of antichristian influences so powerfully work- 
ing around us, we may be tempted despondingly to 
ask — Lord s how long? how long shall the ungodly 
triumph ? We know not how long these opposing 
evils may exist, nor to what fierceness and power 
.they may grow. ' Satan may come down in yet 
greater wrath, knowing that his time is short.' 
There may be yet more formidable revelations of 
Antichrist than any of which we have spoken. But 
of the issue there can be no doubt. The way of the 
Lord is preparing. His Gospel is being preached 
for a witness to all nations. He is taking from 
among the Gentiles a people "prepared for his name. 
Soon he will ' send forth his angels to gather his elect 
from the four quarters of the earth : from the one 
part under heaven to the other.' The world is 
rapidly ripening for the harvest. The wheat for the 
harvest of mercy, the tares for the harvest of wrath. 
Soon the command will be given — "Thrust in the 
sickle and reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 
"What though the Heathen rage, and the people 
imagine a vain thing? the kings of the earth stand 



99 HERESY, SCHISM, INFIDELITY, &C. 

up, and the rulers take counsel together against the 
Lord, and against his anointed ? He that sitteth in 
the heavens, shall laugh them to scorn : the Lord 
shall have them in derision." "I will tread them 
in my wrath, and trample them in my fury ; and 
their blood shall stain all my raiment : for the day 
of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my 
redeemed is come."* Yes, the year of his redeemed 
will have come ! The Jews shall be brought in, 
together with the fulness of the Gentiles : and the 
Lord shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from 
the river even to the ends of the earth ! 

To these gloirious events, connected with the 
coming of the Son of Man in the clouds, we shall 
next direct our attention. ! let us meditate upon 
these things, and pray over them Amidst all the 
darkness, and sorrows, and conflicts that now sur- 
round us, let us be "looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of the Great God our 
Saviour Jesus Christ," to whom, with the Father, 
and the Holy Ghost, one living and true God, be all 
honour and glory, world without end. Amen. 

* Isaiah, lxiii. 3-4. 



LECTURE FIFTH. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS : 
THE CONVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, 



Isaiah, Chapter lix. Verses 17—20. 
** For he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and an helmet of 
salvation upon his head ; and he put on the garments of vengeance 
for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to 
their deeds, accordingly he will repay; fury to his adversaries, 
recompense to his enemies ; to the Islands he will repay recom- 
pense. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and 
his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come 
in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord yhall lift up a standard against 
him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that 
turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord." 

It is generally admitted that some parts of the 
prophecies have been fulfilled, — that others are now 
in a course of fulfilment, while others are to be ful- 
filled at some future time. It is of the highest im- 
portance in the interpretation of Scripture to discri- 
minate between these different classes of prophecies. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 101 

In supporting the doctrine advocated in the present 
course of Lectures, we wish to be considered as occu- 
pying the station of an inquirer for the truth, rather 
than as pledged champions of any human theory. 
Our desire is to ascertain, so far as may be permitted 
to our weakness, what is the doctrine of the Holy 
Scriptures in reference to those momentous themes 
to which we have presumed to invite your atten- 
tion. 

While we hold it to be a sound principle that any 
doctrine is true which is clearly and unequivocally 
taught even in one passage of Scripture, — yet we 
would not build a theory upon that one passage in- 
consistent with other portions of the Sacred Volume. 
Far less would we adduce in support of the views now 
advocated, any prophecy which has already been 
fulfilled — or any text which we deem to be of doubt- 
ful interpretation. 

What then is the meaning of the text? To what 
period of the Church's history does it relate ? Is it 
a fulfilled or an unfulfilled prophecy ? 

The text declares that when "the enemy" comes 
in like a raging "flood, the Spirit of the Lord would 
lift up a standard against him :" that the Lord will 
"repay fury to his adversaries, and recompense to 
his enemies ;" and that, in immediate connexion with 
this coming to punish his enemies— men shall 'fear 
his name from the west, and his glory from the rising 
10 



102 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

of the sun/ — that he should come as ' Redeemer to 
Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in 
Jacob.' 

Such is the plain teaching — the palpable meaning 
of the text. To what period of the Church's history 
does it relate? All Christians agree that by 'the 
Lord' here the Messiah is intended. Many consi- 
der the passage as referring to his first coming, and 
of course believe it to be fulfilled — or in a course of 
fulfilment. 

But to this interpretation of the text there are 
objections which, to us, appear insuperable. At 
our Lord's first advent, he came not in the garb of 
a warrior — in power and majesty — "having on the 
breast-plate of righteousness, and clothed with the 
garments of vengeance ;" but he was meek and low- 
ly, — despised and rejected of men. He came, not 
to recompense his adversaries and to take vengeance 
upon his enemies ; but, to offer an atonement for 
sin, and to proclaim the doctrine of pardon and sal- 
vation. It is true lie then came to Zion, and was 
with the descendants of Jacob in Judea ; — not how- 
ever to be acknowledged and adored by the Jews, 
but to be rejected and crucified. "He came to his 
own, but his own received him not" There is, 
therefore, internal evidence, clear and conclusive, 
that the text relates not to the first advent, and has 
not yet received its accomplishment. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 103 

But in addition to these inferential arguments 
deduced from the prophecy itself, we have the di- 
rect testimony of the Holy Ghost. The inspired 
Apostle St. Paul, — himself a converted Jew, — writ- 
ing to the Gentile Christians at Rome, and speaking 
of the conversion and restoration of the Jews as a 
future event, says — " I would not that ye should he 
ignorant of this mystery, — that blindness in part is 
happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles 
be come in: and so all Israel shall be saved : as it is 
written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, 
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob : for 
this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take 
away their sins."* Where did St. Paul find the 
passage here quoted except in our text? He refers 
the date of its fulfilment to the period when all 
Israel shall be saved and the fulness of the Gentiles 
shall be brought in. Under the sanction of such a 
Commentator, we hesitate not to give a similar in- 
terpretation. We feel that we are in no danger of 
perverting it when we apply the text to those 
grand events of sorrow and of joy — of wrath and of 
mercy — of judgment and of salvation — that will be 
the accompaniments of the second Advent of our 
Lord. 

We have, in our preceding discourses, treated of 
the prominent events which the pen of prophecy 

♦Rora. xi. 25-27. 



104 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

has recorded as antecedents of the coming of our 
Lord to judgment — or the " great day of his appear- 
ing and kingdom." We have traced the rise and 
growth of that great Mohammedan imposture em- 
ployed, in the providence of God> as the scourge of 
guilty and idolatrous Churches in the East, — and of 
that formidable system of spiritual tyranny which 
corrupted the Church in the West, and, for so long 
a period, darkened the sanctuaries of God with the 
cloud of superstition, and kept his faithful witnesses 
prophesying in sackcloth, and his servants groaning 
under the yoke of spiritual bondage. 

We have had our attention arrested and fixed in 
admiration upon the bright day of light and deliver- 
ance which broke forth at the Reformation like the 
sun bursting through a cloud of thickest darkness. 
We have gazed with rapture upon the progress of 
the Angel flying through the unclouded firmament 
of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach 
unto all them that dwell upon the face of the earth. 
We have indulged in the bright visions of hope, and 
begun to flatter ourselves that all the evils and errors 
of the ' latter times' — or the reign of superstition, 
were passing or had passed away forever, and that 
the light, whose renovated dawn we had hailed, 
would shine brighter and brighter till the whole 
world should rejoice in the radiance of millenial 
day. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 105 

But in the midst of these brilliant imaginings, 
we looked again more intently into the glass of pro- 
phecy, and we saw foreshadowings of a deeper dark- 
ness : they image forth the black cloud of " the last 
days" That cloud is heterogeneous in its charac- 
ter. It contains within its bowels factions, and 
schisms, and heresies ; — the impieties and blasphe- 
mies of infidelity ; all the elements of individual and 
social crime — of riot and impurity, lawlessness and 
blood. It embodies all the crimes and abominations 
of Antichrist, in his last and worst form, to awaken 
the slumbering justice and call forth the naming ven- 
geance of the Most High when he shall come forth 
out of his place to shake terribly the earth. 

It is with unaffected pain and humiliation that we 
have been obliged to refer to the factious spirit which 
has led to separations from the Church, and to the 
soul-destroying heresies which are its legitimate pro- 
geny. It is with profound mortification and regret 
that, in the midst of great cotemporary evils, which 
should incite us to closer union and to a more com- 
bined and undivided exertion of our Ecclesiastical 
strength, we are forced to advert to a schismatical, 
but, we trust, vain attempt within the Church to 
slacken the bonds of unity, and to carry us back 
from light to darkness, from liberty to bondage.* 

* Some may think that the language here employed with refer- 
ence to Mr. Newman and his followers is atronger than the facts will 
10* 



106 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

It is with still greater humiliation and sorrow that 
we have been compelled to denounce that corrupting 

justify; inasmuch as they have not separated from the Church and 
profess not to favour any divisions in it. The author would gladly 
blot it out if he could do so with a clear conscience. But if clergy- 
men of a Reformed Church, eating of its bread and serving at its 
altars, speak in disparaging terms of the characters and work of the 
martyred men by whom the Reformation was effected : if, while in 
theory magnifying the powers and prerogatives of the Episcopal of- 
fice, they, in fact, persist in advocating usages and propagating 
doctrines which have been censured by the Bishops who, according 
to the divine will, have the oversight and government over them : 
if, after having subscribed the Articles of religion in their plain and 
grammatical sense, they sophistically argue that men may consci- 
entiously subscribe them, who belong to the corrupt Church against 
whose errors the Articles were intended to protect: then, even those 
among us who respect their private characters, and sympathize 
with their views so far as the y are truly Catholic, — athough disposed 
to acquit them of intentional schism, must admit the schismalical ten- 
dency of their course. 

Soon after the republication of " The Tracts for the Times" was 
commenced in New York, the author took occasion to express his 
sentiments in reference to their dangerous tendency in a series of 
"Letters to a friend" published in the Episcopal Recorder over the 
signature of J. W. M. The sentiments therein expressed have been 
fully confirmed by the further revelations of the system in subse- 
quent tracts up tc, its most offensive development in Tract No. 90, 
and in the review of Jewel's life and writings by the British Critic. 

An attempt has been made in certain quarters to produce an im- 
pression that the views of the Tractarians are identical with those of 
High Churchmen. Although the author professes to be nothing 
more than a Churchman, yet, as an act of justice, he takes pleasure 
in stating the fact, that the particular views of the I'usey and New- 
man school have been condemned by none more decidedly than by 
many who choose to designate their grade of Churchmanshipby the 
prefix High. We protest against the confounding of things essen- 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 107 

leaven of infidelity which poisons the fountains of 
social purity and happiness, and exhibits its deadly 
influence in the multiplying crimes and shocking 
enormities of the present day. 

We know not to what extent these evils may 
grow under the instigation of the powers of dark- 
ness. We know not that Antichrist may not still 
be revealed in some more odious and fearful form 
than we have yet conjectured. Satan may come 
down in yet greater wrath, knowing that his time is 
short. The signs of the times correspond, in some 
of their features at least, with those which the pencil 
of prophecy has drawn as characteristic of "the last 
days." The world is rapidly ripening for the har- 
vest : the wheat for a harvest of mercy — the tares 
for a harvest of wrath. We say, therefore, The com- 
ing of the Lord draweth nigh ! " Watch and pray, 
for ye know not the day nor the hour when the Son 
of man cometh . !" 

tially distinct — while one of our Cso called) High Church prelates 
places No. 90 "in no better a position than among- slippery modes of 
explaining 1 our Articles" — and speaks of the "grievous etror of per- 
verting Catholicism, from a mere principle, to almost as infatuated a 
passion as that which brought about the crusades"— and another of the 
same class has been heard to say, substantially, ' The present agita- 
tion (produced by the Tracts) will prove only like the ripple upon 
the surface of stagnant water— the shaking of a few dead leaves from 
Vie tree of life. In a few years, the names of those engaged in this 
controversy will pass away and be forgotten : but the spirit which 
diveltin Cranmen, and Ridley, and Latimer, will still stand firm and 
unyielding between Hie truth and Rome !' 



108 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

A scoffing world may inquire " Where is the pro- 
mise of his coming?" A slumbering Church may 
say ' My Lord delay eth his coming. He will surely 
wait till after the Millenium, — till after the whole 
world is converted : a little more slumber, a little 
more sleep, a little more folding of the hands to 
sleep.' But the Bible says — " The kingdom of God 
cometh not with observation ; for as the lightning 
cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the 
west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be." 4 * 
" The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the 
night." " As the days of Noah were, so shall also 
the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the 
days that were before the flood, they were eating and 
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the 
day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not 
till the flood came and took them all away : so shall 
also the coming of the Son of man be."t " The 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
those who know not God and obey not the Gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
and from the Glory of his power ; when he shall 
come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired 
in all them that believe in that day." J " For behold 

•St. Matt. xxiv. 27 ; Luke, xvii. 24. fMait. xxiv. 37-39. 

$2Thess. i.7-10. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 109 

the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to 
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that 
are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, 
and of all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners 
have spoken against him."* 

0, friends and brethren ! let us not be like the 
foolish virgins who slumbered and slept till the mid- 
night cry was made, "Behold the Bridegroom com- 
eth ! go ye out to meet him!" That cry is now 
made by the tongue of prophecy, and by the voice 
of Providence. Arise, then, and trim your lamps ! 
" Let your loins be girded about and your lamps 
trimmed and burning ; and ye yourselves like unto 
those who wait for the coming of their Lord !" 

"For he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, 
and an helmet of salvation upon his head ; and he 
put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and 
was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their 
deeds, accordingly he will repay ; fury to his adver- 
saries, recompense to his enemies ; to the Islands he 
will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name 
of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the 
rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in 
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a 
standard against him. And the Redeemer shall 
come to Zion, and unto them that turn from trans- 
gression in Jacob, saith the Lord." 

* Jude, 14, 15. 



110 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

The time of the second coming of our Lord is 
called 'the day of wrath — the day of terrors — the 
day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of 
God — the day of judgment and perdition of un- 
godly men.' Almost all the passages which fore- 
tell it, both in the Old Testament and in the New, 
represent it as being preceded and accompanied with 
scenes of wo and suffering, such as have never yet 
been recorded in the annals of this guilty world. 
All antichristian powers, that have opposed the Gos- 
pel and the glory of our Lord, shall then fall beneath 
the weight of his avenging arm. "The man of sin" 
will be consumed by the spirit of his mouth, and 
destroyed by the brightness of his coming. Proud 
and haughty spiritual Babylon, who has so long 
flaunted in her glory, and luxury, and wealth, shall 
be trampled in the dust. The Beast, and the False 
Prophet shall be cast into the bottomless pit ; and 
all the nations by whose favour and power anti- 
christian systems have been maintained shall be 
sharers in the wrath that will attend their destruc- 
tion. 

The text represents our Lord as making his ap- 
pearance in a time of gross wickedness and corrup- 
tion, such as we have seen "the last days" to be. 
"Judgment is turned away backward, and justice 
standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the streets, 
and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth ; and 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. Ill 

he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey : 
and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that 
there was no judgment. And he saw that there was 
no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: 
therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and 
his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on 
righteousness as a breast-plate, and an helmet of sal- 
vation upon his head ; and put on the garments of 
vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a 
cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he 
will repay ; fury to his adversaries, recompense to 
his enemies ; to the Islands he will repay recom- 
pense." Who can fail to perceive in these words a 
description of the Captain of our salvation fully 
equipped for a contest with his enemies ? Under 
the like aspect he appeared to the Psalmist, when 
he exclaimed — " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0, 
Thou Most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty, 
and ride forth prosperously, because of truth, and 
meekness, and righteousness ; and thy right hand 
shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are 
sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies ; whereby 
the people fall under Thee." And then, when the 
Messiah has thus prepared the way for the establish- 
ment of his kingdom by the destruction of his ene- 
mies — the Psalmist exclaims, with adoration, " Thy 
throne, God, is for ever and ever ; the sceptre of 



112 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

thy kingdom is a right sceptre."* In the second 
Psalm we have a like exhibition of the terrible judg- 
ments of the Lord upon opposing powers and anti- 
ehristian nations. "Why do the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the 
earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel to- 
gether against the Lord and against his anointed ? 
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord 
shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak 
unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore 
displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy 
hill of Zion. I will declare the decree : the Lord 
hath said unto me, thou art my Son ; this day have 
I begotten thee. Ask of me" (saith the Father to the 
Son,) "and I shall give thee the heathen for thine in- 
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy 
possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of 
iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel. Be wise now, therefore, ye kings : be 
instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord 
with fear, and rejoice unto him with trembling. 
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little : 
blessed are all they that put their trust in him." 

The one hundred and tenth Psalm, which also 
celebrates the establishment of the Messiah in his 
kingdom, contains language of the same fearful im- 

*Ps. xlv. 3-6. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 113 

port. " The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at 
my right hand until I make thine enemies thy 
footstool. The Lord shall send the rod pf thy 
strength out of Zion : rule thou in the midst of thy 
enemies. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike 
through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall 
judge among the heathen ; he shall fill the places with 
the dead bodies ; he shall wound the heads over 
many countries." 

Those scenes of terror and of judgment, immedi- 
ately connected with the last day, will be attended 
with a purifying influence upon the Church — will 
separate, as by a winnowing process, the chaff from 
the wheat — the righteous from the wicked. For 
"the Son of Man will gather out of his kingdom all 
that offend, and them that do iniquity," and they shall 
have their part in the lake which burnetii with fire 
and brimstone. As at the time of the flood, the 
righteous were preserved in the Ark, — as at the de- 
struction of Sodom and Gomorrah righteous Lot and 
his family were preserved, and as at the destruction of 
Jerusalem the Christians fled to Pella, and were safe, 
— even so shall they be secure amidst the terrors of 
which we speak. The particulars of that awful 
scene which will close the drama of the present dis- 
pensation are thus described by our Lord : " There 
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the 
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall 
11 



114 JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 

be. And except those days should be shortened 
there should no flesh be saved : but for the elect's 
sake those days shall be shortened."* In the close, 
and after that tribulation, our Lord shall come in the 
clouds. 

It is impracticable in this course of Lectures, in 
which nothing more is attempted than a sketch or 
outline of the leading events connected with the 
great theme of our Lord's second Advent, to illus- 
trate, or even to enumerate the passages of scripture 
which speak of the overthrow of antichristian pow- 
ers, and the terrible judgments of God upon guilty 
nations. They are very numerous : much more so 
than any one would conjecture whose attention has 
not been especially turned to the investigation.t 

Do you ask, How are these predictions to be ful- 
filled ? The proper answer is — He that made them 
knoweth. How were the wicked antediluvians de- 
stroyed ? How were Sodom and Gomorrah brought 
to an end ? How were Babylon, and Nineveh, and 
Tyre, and Jerusalem, and the Roman empire over- 
thrown in exact fulfilment of the words of prophecy? 
The pen of prophecy predicted the events, — the pen 
of history has recorded their literal fulfilment. He 
who has quenched the glory of the brightest em- 

* Matt. xxiv. 21-22-29-30. 

\ The following- may be referred to among- others : Isaiah, xxxiv ; 
Joel, iii. 1-10; Zephaniah, iii. 8-9; Ez. xxviii. 25-26 ; Hag. ii. 21- 
23; Jer. xxx, throughout; Numbers, xxiv. 17-23. 



JUDGMENTS UPON GUILTY NATIONS. 115 

pires, who has blotted out from existence those 
splendid cities which were once the pride of the 
earth, — who has often employed one guilty nation to 
be the instrument of vengeance upon another, will 
be at no loss for human agents to accomplish his 
ends, should it be his pleasure to employ them. He 
who sent his destroying angel to slay one hundred 
and eighty-five thousand men of the Assyrian army 
in a single night, who caused Pharaoh and his host to 
sink like lead in the mighty waters, who broke up 
the fountains [of the great deep to overwhelm the 
world of the ungodly, who rained down torrents of 
fire and brimstone upon the guilty cities of the plain 
— will be at no loss for supernatural and miraculous 
agency, should that be necessary for the accomplish- 
ment of the purposes of his wrath. Our only inqui- 
ry should be, What hath the Lord spoken ? Has he 
clearly predicted coming scenes of judgment and de- 
solation upon the earth ? If so we may leave their ac- 
complishment to his infinite wisdom and power. 
They will assuredly come. For "heaven and earth 
may pass away, but one jot or tittle of his word shall 
never fail." 

But we turn away from this awful theme, that we 
may direct our attention to those attractive and joy- 
ful events which are depicted in the chart of 
prophecy as immediately connected with the coming 
of the Son of Man in the clouds. The first of those, 



116 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS, 

demanding our notice, is the Restoration and 
Conversion or the Jews. 

" For he put on righteousness as a breast-plate ? 
and an helmet of salvation upon his head ; and he 
put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and 
was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their 
deeds, accordingly he will repay ; fury to his adver- 
saries, recompense to his enemies ; to the Islands he 
will repay recompense. So shall they fear the Lord 
from the west and his glory from the rising of the 
sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, 
the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against 
him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and 
unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, 
saith the Lord." 

You perceive that the prophet here represents that 
the Redeemer's coming to Zion or Jerusalem, and 
the ' turning away of ungodliness from Jacob'* shall 
be simultaneous with — or immediately succeeding 
the overthrow of antichristian powers, and the inflic- 
tion of desolating judgments upon guilty nations. 
Such we believe to be the uniform representation of 
the prophetical Scriptures. We cannot now enter 
into an elaborate argument in proof of this position ; 
but in addition to the quotations already made from 
the Psalms, will read a few of the many passages 
which relate to the subject, and leave you to form a 
deliberate judgment of their meaning. 

• Rom. xi. 26. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. 117 

"As one whom his mother k comforteth, so will I 
comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 
And when ye see this your heart shall rejoice and 
the hand of the Lord shall be known towards his 
servants, and his indignation towards his enemies. 
For behold the Lord will come with fire, and with 
chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with 
fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by 
fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all 
flesh ; and the slain of the Lord shall be many. . . . 
And I will set a sign among them, and I will send' 
those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tar- 
shish, Pul and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and 
Javan, to the Isles afar off*, that have not heard my 
fame, neither have seen my glory \ and they shall de- 
clare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall 
bring all your brethren for an offering unto the 
Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, 
and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, 
to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as 
the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean 
vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also 
take of them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord. 
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I 
will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, 
so shall your seed and your name remain. And it 
shall come to pass that from one new moon to 
another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all 
11* 



118 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases 
of the men that have transgressed against me : for 
their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be 
quenched : and they shall be an abhorring unto all 
flesh."* u . Go through, go through the gates ; pre- 
pare ye the way of the people ; cast up, cast up an 
highway ; gather out the stones; lift up a standard 
for the people. Behold the Lord hath proclaimed 
unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of 
Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh ; behold his re- 
ward is with him, and his work before him. And 
they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of 
the Lord ; and thou shalt be called, sought out, a city 
not forsaken."! " I will surely assemble, Jacob, 
all of thee ; I will surely gather the remnant of Is- 
rael ; I will put them together as the sheep of Boz- 
rah, as the flock in the midst of their fold; they shall 
make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 
The breaker is come up before them : they have 
broken up, and have passed through the gate, and 
are gone out by it: and their King shall pass before 
them, and the Lord on the head of them. "J "But 
in the last days it shall come to pass, that the moun- 
tain of the Lord's house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and people shall flow unto it. And many 

*Is. Ixvi. 13-24. fls. lxii. 10-12. JMicah, \[, 12-13. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 119 

nations shall come and say, come, and let us go to the 
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God 
of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we 
will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of 
Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 
And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke 
strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their 
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pru- 
ning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But 
they shall sit every man under his vine and under 
his fig tree ; and none shall make them afraid : for 
the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For 
all people will walk every one in the name of his 
God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our 
God for ever and ever. In that day saith the Lord, 
will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather 
her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted ; 
and I will make her that halteth a remnant, and her 
that was cast far off a strong nation ; and the Lord 

SHALL REIGN OVER THEM IN MOUNT ZlON from 

henceforth even forever. 1 '* Then will be ful- 
filled the words of the angel at the annunciation, 
u He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of 
the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him 
the throne of his father David. And he shall reign 
over the house of Jacob forever ; and of his king- 

* Micah, iv. 1-7. 



120 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. 

dom there shall be no end."* "In that day shall 
the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and 
he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as 
David ; and the house of David shall be as God, 
as the angel of the Lord before them. And it 
shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to 
destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 
And I will pour upon the house of David and the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and sup- 
plications ; and they shall look upon me whom they 
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him."t "Be- 
hold the day of the Lord cometh, .... Then shall 
the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as 
when he fought in the day of battle. And his 
feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of 

Olives And the Lord my God shall come, and 

all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass 
in that day, that the light shall not be clear nor dark: 
but it shall be one day which shall be known to the 
Lord, not day nor night: but it shall come to pass 
that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall 
be in that day, that living waters shall go out from 
Jerusalem ; half of them toward the former sea, and 
half of them toward the hinder sea : in summer and 
in winter, shall it be. And the Lord shall be king 
over all the earth : in that day shall there be one 
Lord, and his name one.":}: "Behold, I will send 

•Luke, i. 32, 33. tZech. xii. 8-10. JZech. xiv. 1-9. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. 121 

my messenger, arid he shall prepare the way before 
me : and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly 
come to his temple, even the messenger of the cove- 
nant, whom ye delight in ; behold, he shall come, 
saith the Lord of Hosts. But who may abide the 
day of his coming? and who shall stand when he 
appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like 
fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and puri- 
fier of silver : and he shall purify the sons of Levi, 
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may 
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be 
pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as 
in former years. And I will come near to you to 
judgment."* " For behold, the day cometh that 
shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and 
all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble : and the 
day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord 
of Hosts, that it. shall leave them neither root nor 
branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the 
sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; 
and ye shall go forth, and»grow up as calves of the 
stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked ; for 
they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the 
day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts."t 
Christians have been so much in the habit of ap- 
plying the predictions of the Messiah to his first 

* Malachi, iii. 1-5. t Malachi, i v . 1-3. 



122 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

advent, and those which relate to Jerusalem or Zion, 
and the Jews, to the Christian Church and its Gen- 
tile members, that they fail to perceive the true in- 
terpretation and meaning of many of the Old Testa- 
ment prophecies, and among them those which have 
now been quoted. We do not deny that a part of 
these predictions have some reference to the first 
advent, and were then partially fulfilled. Christ 
came to the second Temple, but not as "a refiner 
and purifier of silver" — with wrath, and terror, and 
fire, as he will be revealed in the last day. When 
the Prophets speak of Zion they mean Zion, not the 
Christian Church. When they speak of Jerusalem 
they mean Jerusalem, and not any city or nation of 
Gentile Christians. When they speak of Judah, of 
Jacob, of Israel, they mean, not Christianized Gen- 
tiles, but the descendants of Abraham.* 

Mr. Keith, who has written a popular book on 
the prophecies, has shown how all which relate to 
the overthrow of Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Edom, 
and Jerusalem, to the dispersion of the Jews and the 
lost ten tribes of Israel w^re fulfilled to the very let- 
ter. He could not have done otherwise, without 
belying and contradicting all history. But when he 

* It is not denied that the Christian Church is sometimes called 
Zion, and that the promises made to God's ancient people, the 
Jews, may truthfully be applied, in a way of accommodation, to 
Gentile believers in Jesus ; but this is not their distinctive meaning- 
— their primary application. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 123 

comes to treat of those which relate to the re-build- 
ing of Jerusalem, the restoration of Judah and the 
lost tribes of Israel to their own land, and to the 
setting up of Messiah's kingdom and his Mille- 
nial reign on earth, he departs from all the safe 
principles which had guided him before, and adopts 
that wretched system of metaphorical and spiritual 
interpretation which makes the plainest prophecies 
enigmas, and converts the Bible into a riddle-book. 
As when the Lord threatened to scatter his people, 
and make them a by-word and hissing among all 
nations, we understand him as speaking literally, 
because we know, by the event, that not one jot or 
tittle of the threatening has failed ; even so, when 
he promises that he will again bring them to the 
knowledge of his truth, and restore them from the 
countries whither they have been scattered ; when 
he declares that their holy city shall be re-built in 
more than its original splendor, that their beloved 
land shall be restored to more than its primeval fer- 
tility and abundance, and that the Messiah shall 
reign over them ; — we deem it absurd to apply 
these promises to Christians, who have not been 
"scattered and peeled" — nor made "a by-word and 
hissing" among all nations, — or to the Christian 
Church, which has never been overthrown and trod- 
den in the dust by the Gentiles.* 

* " I hold it for a most infallible rule in expositions of Sacred 
Scripture, that where a literal construction will stand, the farthest 






124 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

We take God's word as it stands, and interpret 
the prophecies according to the plain meaning of the 
language in which they are announced. We believe 
that He who has executed his threatenings upon his 
once elect and chosen people for their sins, will not 
fail to execute the promises he has made in regard to 
their conversion, restoration and glory. It will be 
said, by some, that many of the prophecies of this 
class, in the Old Testament, were fulfilled in the re- 
storation of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. 
This is true. But some of those we have quoted are 
from the last three jirophets, who wrote after that 
wonderful deliverance of God's people, and you may 
be satisfied, from a careful examination of them, that 
not one of those quoted in this lecture received its 
full accomplishment in that event. 

Our faith on this important point cannot be better 
expressed than in the words of the prophet Jere- 
miah : words too unequivocal to be misunderstood ; 
and which, I am bold to say, have not been fulfilled, 
either in the return from captivity in Babylon, or in 
the first Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Behold 
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up 
unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall 

from the letter is commonly the worst. There is nothing 1 more dan- 
gerous than this licentious and deluding- art which changes the 
meaning of words, as Alchymes does or would do the substance of 
metals, makes of any thing what it lists, and brings, in the end, all 
truih to nothing." — Hooker. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 125 

reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment 
and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall 
be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely ; and this is 
his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our 
Righteousness. Therefore, behold the days come, 
saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, the Lord 
liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of 
the land of Egypt; but, the Lord liveth which brought 
up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out 
of the north country, and from all the countries 
whither I had driven them ; and they shall dwell 
in their oivn land."* 

This subject — the conversion and restoration of 
God's ancient people, is one of deep and engrossing 
interest to every student of prophecy. The remain- 
der of this discourse, therefore, shall be devoted to a 
brief sketch of the fate of that wonderful people 
whose history and fortunes occupy so large a space 
in the sacred volume. 

You need not be reminded of the important place 
assigned to the Jews in the scriptures both of the 
Old and New Testaments. You well know that they 
were the chosen people of God. To them " pertain- 
ed the adoption, and the covenants, and the promi- 
ses : whose are the fathers : and of whom, as con- 
cerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God 
blessed forever." God's providential government 

* Jer. xxiii. 5-8. 
12 



126 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

of the world was so directed as to promote their in- 
terests, and to fulfil the promises which he made 
unto their fathers. Their whole history presents, as 
it were, a succession of miracles from the calling of 
Abraham to the destruction of Jerusalem. Need I 
remind you how God delivered them from sore bon- 
dage in Egypt with his mighty hand and stretched 
out arm ? how he conducted them by an inspired 
leader during their forty years journeying in the 
wilderness ! how he gave them a perfect law amidst 
the miraculous thunders and lightnings of Mount Si- 
nai, supplied them with food by raining down manna 
from the clouds, satisfied their thirst with water from 
the rock, and finally drove out their enemies before 
them and gave them possession of the promised land ? 
Need I remind you that he fought their battles and 
interposed for their protection ? that when he had 
permitted them, for their sins, to be carried captives 
into Babylon, He, at the end of seventy years, fulfill- 
ed his promise by restoring them again to their own 
land ? I might go through their whole history, no- 
ticing the succession of judges and monarchshe raised 
up for them, and tell you of the Prophets whom He 
sent, in successive ages, to make known his judg- 
ments and mercies, till, in the fulness of time, he sent 
the Prophet of prophets, his only begotten Son — the 
light of the world — the glorious antitype of the legal 
sacrifices — " of whom Moses in the law, and the 






RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. 127 

prophets did write :" And at the close of this enu- 
meration of wonders, such as can be found in the 
history of no other people, I might say to you, in 
the language of Joshua, "Ye know in all your hearts, 
and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed 
of all that the Lord hath promised : all have come to 
pass ; and not one thing hath failed thereof." 

It is true that the chosen people, as a body, did 
not welcome the Messiah. " He came to his own, 
but his own received him not; they crucified the Lord 
of glory. *' And then, for their impenitence and unbe- 
lief, judgment came upon them to the uttermost. 
Their holy Temple was defiled ; their glorious city 
was laid in ruins; their civil and ecclesiastical polity 
was destroyed ; their sacrifice and oblation ceased ; 
and they were driven out " scattered and peeled, to 
be a by-word, and a hissing among all nations." 

It is too commonly thought that, with their rejec- 
tion of the Messiah, God's interest in the Jews came 
to an end : that He would no longer regard them, 
except to visit them with the inflictions of his wrath. 
The popular belief is that they were then finally cut 
off from his covenant, and are no more to be blessed, 
otherwise than as individuals among them may be 
converted to the Christian faith. But it should be 
remembered that their rejection of the Messiah and 
consequent sufferings were distinctly foretold ; and 
that they are preserved, notwithstanding their scatter- 



128 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS, 

ed and suffering condition, in conformity with the 
announced purpose of Jehovah : still preserved, as by 
miracle, a distinct and peculiar people — marked out 
by their features, principles, and habits, as a separate 
race ; dispersed among all nations, yet mingling with 
none : and in this remarkable fact, we behold a ful- 
filment of the prophecy " Israel shall dwell alone 
among the nations." 

Why are they thus preserved as a peculiar people? 
no less so than when brought out of Egypt ? We 
may be answered, It is for a striking proof of the 
truth of prophecy — and as perpetual witnesses of 
God's judgment against unbelief. But while we 
admit this, we ask, Are they not thus marvellously 
preserved for some ulterior and more glorious end ? 
What saith St. Paul ? " Hath God cast off his peo- 
ple whom he foreknew ? Have they stumbled that 
they should fall? God forbid: but rather, through 
their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to 
provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them 
be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of 
them the riches of the Gentiles : how much more 
their fulness ! As, concerning the Gospel, they are 
enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, 
they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the 
gifts and calling of God are without repentance."* 

* Rom. ad. 11-12, 28-29. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 129 

The attention of the Jews, throughout their wide 
dispersion upon earth, is directed to their holy city, 
and their favored land. Whether in Portugal, or In- 
dia, in Bokarra, or in London, — they are waiting for 
the coming of the Messiah to repair the tabernacle of 
Jacob, which is fallen down, to restore the throne of 
David, and to reign over them in Zion, and in Jerusa- 
lem, and before his saints gloriously. Now however 
carnal and grossly erroneous their conceptions of the 
glory which awaits their nation may be, yet the Lord 
will not fail to perform the mercy promised to their 
fathers, and to fulfil his holy covenant. He will re- 
store the preserved of Judah, and bring back the lost 
tribes of Israel, whose hiding place has, thus far, 
eluded the search and scrutiny of men. The time 
is coming when they " shall no more be termed for- 
saken : neither shall their land any more be termed 
desolate : but they shall be called Hephzi-bah, and 
their land Beulah : for the Lord delighteth in them, 
and their land shall be married : and they shall be 
called, Sought out, a city not forsaken."* 

Did the Lord fulfil to the seed of Abraham the 
promise of their deliverance from Egypt, and of 
their redemption from Babylon ? Even so will He 
fulfil the promises he has made of their restoration 
to their own land from their present dispersion 
among all nations. The evangelical prophet era- 

* Isaiah, Ixii. 4-12. 
12* 



130 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. 

ploys this soul-stirring language as descriptive of the 
reign of the Messiah, " And in that day there shall 
be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of 
the people : to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest 
shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that 
day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second 
time to recover the remnant of his people, which 
shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from 
Patmos, and from Cush, and from Shinar, and from 
Hamath, and from the Islands of the sea. And he 
shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assem- 
ble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed 
of Judah from the four corners of the earth."* 

Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
written, " I will pour upon the house of David and 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and 
of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom 
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as 
one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitter- 
ness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first 
born."t For lo ! 'He cometh with clouds: and every 
eye shall see him ; and they also which pierced him 
shall mourn because of him'4 The Jewish nation, 
brought to repentance, — mourning on account of 
their guilty unbelief, shall then hail that Holy One 
whom their fathers crucified, as Lord and Christ 

* Isaiah, xi. 10-13; see also, Jer. xxiii. 2-8. 
tZech. sii. 10, $ Rev. i. 7. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OE THE JEWS. 131 

When they see him again, they will exclaim "Hosan- 
nah ! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the 
Lord !" In that day, the restored and converted 
nation will sing this song — " Lord, I will praise 
thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine an- 
ger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Be- 
hold, God is my salvation : I will trust and not 
be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
and my song: he also is become my salvation. Cry 
out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is 
the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."* 

We believe, therefore, that the Jews are marvel- 
lously preserved, in the providence of God, to an- 
swer a most important purpose in the execution of 
the Divine counsels, and to perform a distinguished 
part in the great work of the conversion of the 
world. The first propagators of the Gospel were 
Jews, and the word of the Lord ran very swiftly. 
Since the Apostolic age its advancement has been 
comparatively slow. But in the last days, the word 
of the Lord shall again go forth from Zion, and his 
Law from Jerusalem. The " living waters" of salva- 
tion shall "flow forth, from Jerusalem," on every 
side, to refresh and fertilize the moral world. Then 
shall we behold a spectacle, such as has never 
yet been exhibited in the history of the Church : 
"A nation shall be born in a day :" "the fulness off 

* Isaiah, xii. 1, 2., 6^ 



132 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

the Gentiles shall come in : and all Israel shall be 
saved." 

The Jews, in their dispersion, having learned the 
languages and studied the characters of the various 
tribes and people of the earth, will be admirably 
qualified for the work of missions. As their obsti- 
nate unbelief constitutes one principal impediment 
to the propagation of the Gospel, — how wonderful 
will be the effect produced upon all nations among 
whom they have sojourned — when, abandoning 
their long continued prejudices, they shall embrace 
the religion they have despised, and place the dia- 
dem of glory upon the head of Him whom they 
pierced and crucified ! "If the casting away of them 
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the re- 
ceiving of them be but life from the dead!"* No 
sooner will the Heathen world witness the restora- 
tion and conversion of the Jews, than " they will 
cast their idols to the moles and to the bats," and 
"ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the 
nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that 
is a Jew, saying, We will go with you : for we have 
heard that God is with you." "For thus saith the 
Lord ; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in 
the midst of Jerusalem ; and Jerusalem shall be 
called the city of truth ; and the mountain of the 
Lord of Hosts the holy mountain. Yea, many peo- 

*Kom. xi. 15. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 13'$ 

pie and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord 
of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord/' 
For " the mountain of the Lord's house shall be es- 
tablished in the top of the mountains, and exalted 
above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Then, from the rising of the sun even unto the 
going down of the same, my name shall be great 
among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall 
be offered unto my name, and a pure offering : for 
my name shall be great among the Heathen, saith 
the Lord of Hosts."* 

The restoration and conversion of the Jews will 
usher in those glorious scenes so graphically sketched 
by the pencil of prophecy in the chapter immediate- 
ly following our text. No sooner will " the Lord 
come to Zion, and turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob," than the address will be made to the con- 
verted and restored nation: "Arise, shine! for thy 
light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen 
upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, 
and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up 
thine eyes round about, and see : all they gather 
themselves together, they come to thee : thy sons 
shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be 
nursed at thy side. Who are these that fly as a 
cloud, and as the doves to their windows ? The 
sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending 
* Zech. viii. 23, 3, 22 j Isa. ii. 2, 3 ; Mic. iv. 1, 2; Malachi, i. 11. 



134 RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 

unto thee ; and all they that despised thee shall 
bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet ; and 
they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion 
of tlu Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been 
forsake a and hated, so that no man went through 
thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy 
of many generations. Thou shalt call thy walls Sal- 
vation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no 
more thy light by day ; neither for brightness shall 
the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord shall 
be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy 
glory. Thy sun shall no more go down ; neither 
shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall 
be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be 
all righteous : they shall inherit the land forever, 
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, 
that I may be glorified."* 

We cannot more appropriately conclude this Lec- 
ture than by reciting Pope's beautiful paraphrase 
of the passage just quoted. 

" Rise, crown'd with light, Imperial Salem rise ! 
Exalt thy tow'ring- head and lift thine eyes ! 
See heaven its sparkling- portals wide display, 
And break upon thee in a flood of day ! 
See a long- race thy spacious courts adorn, 
Sec future sons and daughters yet unborn, 

♦Isaiah, lx. 



RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. 135 

In crowding" ranks on every side arise. 

Demanding- life, impatient for the skies ! 

See barb'rous nations at thy gates attend, 

Walk in thy light and in thy temple bend ! 

See thy bright altars throng'd with prostrate kings, 

While every land its joyous tribute brings ! 

The seas shall waste, the skies to smoke decay, 

Rocks fall to dust, and mountains melt away; 

But fix'd his word, his saving power remains — 

Thy realm shall last, Thy own Messiah reigns. 3 ' 



LECTURE SIXTH. 



THE HARVEST OP THE CHURCH. 



St. Mark, Chapter iv. Verse 29. 
** And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth 
in the sickle, because the harvest is come-" 

This is the conclusion of the parable of the seed 
which a man sowed in his ground, and which ad* 
vanced through the different stages of growth ; first 
the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the 
ear : and when the grain had ripened, then the har- 
vest was gathered. In this way our Lord illustrates 
the advancement of his Church, or the Gospel dis- 
pensation, till the final judgment shall take place at 
his second coming. He uses a similar illustration in 
the parable of the wheat and the tares, which grow 
together in the same field until the harvest — when 
the wheat will be gathered into the garner, but the 
tares will be cast into the fire. Thus the righteous 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 137 

and the wicked live together in the world, and even 
in the visible Church, and will continue to do so till 
the last day, when a separation will take place. 
"The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers 
are the angels." 

The world is fast preparing for this consummation. 
We behold an apparently paradoxical state of things 
around us. Daring infidelity on the one hand, lively 
faith upon the other. Under one aspect of society, 
we behold most affecting exhibitions of the disorders, 
heresies, and wickedness which mark " the last 
days;" and on the other, a bold profession of the 
truth, an eager attention to spiritual things, indica- 
tions of increasing unity and purity in the Church, 
and a holy zeal and benevolent energy in the work 
of propagating the Gospel which would have done 
honour to our religion in its best days. It is now 
very much " as it was before the destruction of Je- 
rusalem by the Romans : the Jewish state was ripen- 
ing for judgment; at the same time the Chris- 
tian-Jewish Church was in its full activity and dif- 
fusiveness. Two harvests are before us : a harvest 
of tares for the burning, a harvest of wheat for the 
garner. Two reapings mark the great day of tribu- 
lation : the harvest for the Son of Man to gather to 
his glory, — the vintage for the Son of Man to tread 
in his wrath."* 

* Bickersteth. 
13 



138 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

In our last Lecture we called your attention to 
those tremendous judgments upon antichristian pow- 
ers, and to the scenes of desolation, and misery and 
blood with which wicked communities and nations 
will be visited in those days of unexampled tribula- 
tion which will usher in the second coming of our 
Lord. We also dwelt upon some of those numerous 
passages of Scripture which clearly teach the resto- 
ration of the Jews to their own land, their conver- 
sion, and the consequent conversion of the Gentile 
nations as intimately connected with the great clay of 
Christ's appearing and kingdom. 

But as there are some who object to this interpre- 
tation of the prophecies that it is calculated to damp 
the benevolent enterprise, and discourage the mis- 
sionary operations of the day, I now invite your 
attention to some remarks upon the important work 
which, under the figure of the harvest of the Church, 
is to be done, both for Jews and Gentiles, preparatory 
to the coming of Christ. 

First, for the Jews. We should never, in our 
interpretations of the prophecies, lose sight of, or 
cease to feel an interest in, the Jews. They were 
the chosen depositaries of God's truth, the maintain- 
ed of his worship, the objects of his peculiar care 
and love, and the recipients of his promises, from 
the first establishment of his Church on earth. The 
Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, were Jews, 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 139 

yea, our Blessed Lord himself was a Jew. To that 
people we are indebted for this Sacred volume which 
is the charter of our hopes and our guide to immor- 
tality. And as they were the first in the reception 
of the divine mercies, so will they be first, as our 
elder brethren, in the glory and blessedness that will 
pertain to the kingdom of the Messiah. 

Wherever we behold a Jew, we behold a miracu- 
lous testimonial of the truth of the Bible, a living 
evidence that the kingdom of Christ will come, a 
loud reprover of unbelief, — a silent preacher of right- 
eousness in the midst of an unbelieving and guilty 
world. 

rt There hath visited us 5 " saith an able writer, 
"a preacher such as never preached to a reckless 
world before, on repentance and judgment to come, 
since the days of Noah ; a preacher who bears the 
sign of his commission stamped upon the man, both 
in body and mind ; a preacher who, like Adam, 
can speak from experience, of the sorrows of ruin 
and degradation : a preacher who has been preaching 
ever since the Church of Christ upon earth began, 
and shall preach until the end draw nigh. What ! is 
there indeed a corner of Christendom unpenetrated 
by that mysterious stranger, who, bearing in his pe- 
culiar features the lineaments of Abraham, and thus 
at a glance announcing to us from what high estate 
he had fallen ; cherishing in his spirit all the sullied 



140 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

pride of ruined greatness ; exhibiting in his dealings^ 
all the caution and timidity of the despised stranger: 
attracting by his attachment to the carnalities of his 
abrogated law, continued mockery and derision : 
moving by his superstition, his obstinacy, and blind- 
ness, the pity of some, the contempt of others, the 
neglect of all ; deprived even of the only ordained 
assurance of pardon, by being denied all means of 
sacrifice; and holding in his hand the word of God, 
without a spirit to understand it ; is there, indeed, 
any Church in Christendom, before which the Jew, 
this awful monitor, has never appeared ? ! his 
prophetical character seems to cling to him still; 
every where he appears as God's herald to warn 
against disobedience, to proclaim his judgments; and 
wherever he appears, there should be, as in the pre- 
sence of the prophets of old, humiliation and awe. 
Thus doth this preacher, traversing daily Christ's 
kingdom, unceasingly admonish Churches and indivi- 
duals ; and, standing in our luxurious cities, should 
be to us as Jonah amid Nineveh, summoning us to 
repentance and mourning."* 

" The Jews remain, present in all countries, and 
with a home in none: intermixed, and yet separated: 
neither amalgamated nor lost ; but like the moun- 
tain streams which are said to pass through lakes of 
another kind of water, and keep a native quality to 
* Rev. R. W. Evans. 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 141 

repel commixture, they hold communion without 
union, and may be traced, as rivers without banks, 
in the midst of the alien element which surrounds 
them. 

"Yes, my brethren, only the hand of God can do 
this. The Jew remains a problem which infidelity 
can never solve. A nation, now in the close of the 
eighteenth century of her dispersion, as distinct from 
the fluctuating multitudes of the nations, as the 
Islands of the ocean are from the surrounding waves. 
The waves rise and fall, rage and subside again into 
quietness ; but the firm rooted rocks of the Islands 
remain unmoved. The empires of the earth, from 
Nimrod to Napoleon, like the waves of the sea, have 
chafed each their little hour of rage (rage, too, in 
persecuting bitterness) against the rock of Judah, 
and have each sunk out of vision to rise no more. 
But the Jewish nation, the mountain of the Lord's 
house, based on a sure foundation, has stood, and 
stands, and will stand established in the top of the 
mountains, that all the earth may know and consider, 
and understand together, that the hand of the Lord 
hath done it, and the Holy One of Israel hath cre- 
ated it, according as it is written: 'This people have 
I formed for myself; they shall show forth my 
praise."'* 

*Rev. Hugh McNeille. 
13* 



142 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

We are inclined to believe that this extraordinary 
people, as a nation, will remain in blindness and un- 
belief until " the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled:" 
the veil will remain upon their hearts until they be 
turned to the Lord at the second coming of the 
Messiah ; when, according to his own prediction, 
they will hail him as their king, and exclaim, 
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord !" 

It may be objected that this belief is inconsistent 
with the general truth that God converts men 
only by the instrumentality of his word, and, con- 
sequently, that if the Jews are ever to be con- 
verted, it must be as Gentiles are, by the preaching 
of the Gospel. This is undoubtedly true so far 
as individuals are concerned under the present 
dispensation. But we must bear in mind that, 
with regard to the chosen people as a nation, 
almost all God's dealings have been miraculous. 
Their history, from the calling of Abraham down 
to the present period, is made up of a succession of 
wonders. 

May we not behold in the calling and conversion 
of St. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, a type or 
symbol of the conversion of the Jewish nation, the 
divinely appointed instrument for the conversion of 
the Gentile nations ? Saul of Tarsus was ' an He- 
brew of the Hebrews; and after the straitest sect, he 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 14? 

lived a Pharisee.' Such was his zeal for the law of 
Moses, that he was filled with enmity to the Gospel, 
and, with obstinate malignity, persecuted the disci- 
ples of Jesus unto strange cities. Was he not, in. 
this respect, a fair sample of the majority of his 
countrymen ? Are not their prejudices as obstinate, 
their enmity to Christianity as violent as his? And 
how was that ancient embittered opposer of the 
Cross converted ? Not by the preaching of the 
Gospel, or by any other ordinary means. No. But y 
in the midst of his persecuting career, the Lord 
Jesus met him, and made a personal manifestation 
of his glory. A light shone round about him, 
above the brightness of the firmament ; he heard,, 
with trembling awe, the voice of Jesus, whom he 
persecuted, — and he who fell to the ground a blas- 
phemer of the Gospel, arose to be the successful 
witness and propagator of the faith which he had 
once laboured to destroy. Alluding to his conver- 
sion, St. Paul says : " Howbeit for this cause I 
obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might 
show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them 
who should hereafter believe on him to life ever- 
lasting."* Now is it visionary or fanatical to sup- 
pose that, as he was an example of the long-suffer- 
ing of God to other enemies and persecutors of the 
truth, — even so, his miraculous change was itself "a, 
*1 Tim. i. 16. 



144 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

pattern" of the manner in which his unbelieving 
nation shall be converted, in the last day, by the 
personal manifestation of Jesus Christ to them in 
his glory ? 

But notwithstanding our belief that the Jews, as 
a nation, will not be converted till they shall behold 
Him whom they pierced coming in the clouds, we 
doubt not that many individuals among them have 
been, and will be gathered to Christ, by the blessing 
of the Spirit upon ordinary means, as "the first 
fruits" of that mighty harvest which is to be gather- 
ed at the last day. 

Within the memory of some of us a great change 
has taken place in the feelings of Christians with 
respect to the ancient people of God. The political 
restraints and civil disabilities to which they were 
subjected have been removed in some Christian 
countries. We no longer cherish towards them 
sentiments of hatred and contempt. But, as the 
prophecies are better understood, the sympathies of 
the Christian public have become powerfully excited 
in behalf of the seed of Abraham, and many benevo- 
lent efforts have been put forth to remove their 
prejudices, and convert them to the Christian faith. 
Societies for meliorating their condition have been 
instituted ; schools for the instruction of their chil- 
dren have been established; the New Testament, 
translated into their sacred language, has been wide- 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 145 

ly disseminated, — and many, in the spirit of the 
Master, have gone forth to reclaim the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel. 

Blessed be God ! these evangelical labours have 
not been in vain. To many of that people the cross 
of Christ is no longer a stumbling block. In one in- 
stitution in London there are upwards of three hun- 
dred converted Jews. For several years past, twen- 
ty, upon an average, have been confirmed by the 
Bishop of London every year. In England alone 
forty Jewish converts have become Christian minis- 
ters. In Prussia, where no Jew can be baptized 
without being first fully instructed in the principles 
of Christianity, one thousand eight hundred and 
eighty-eight have been baptized within fifteen years 
past.* Several converted Rabbis are now preaching 
Jesus as the Messiah, and a powerful party of Israel- 
ites have rejected the Talmud, and separated from 
the rest of their brethren, with a determination no 
longer to follow the traditions of the Elders, but to 
be fguided only by the instructions of Moses and 
the Prophets.! 

He must be a very careless observer of the signs 
of the times who fails to perceive that there is now 
a more powerful movement among the Jews in refer- 

* These statistics are taken from the Reports of " the Society for 
the promotion of Christianity among" the Jews." 

t This separation took place almost simultaneously on the conti- 
nent of Europe and in England. 



146 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

ence to Christianity, and also among Christians in 
reference to the conversion of the Jews, than has 
ever before taken place since the age of the Apostles. 
Among those signs there is one event, of recent 
occurrence, so remarkable in itself, and so pregnant 
with the mightiest results, that we cannot pass over 
it without particular notice. 

Within the last few months two Protestant govern- 
ments of Europe have conferred together — not about 
schemes for the oppression of their subjects, or for the 
extension of their temporal dominion and glory — but 
about the spiritual welfare of the Jews and the exten- 
sion of pure Christianity in the East, — making the 
Holy City the centre of Evangelical operations — the 
radiating point of Gospel truth amidst the darkness 
of the surrounding nations. As the result of confer- 
ences between those high powers, the Church of Eng- 
land resolved to send forth a Bishop to preach the 
Gospel and exercise his sacred functions on the very 
spot where the first Council of the Church was held, 
in the infancy of our religion, by the twelve Apos- 
tles. The learned divine who was first selected for 
this august mission, declined the appointment, on 
the ground that a converted Jew would be the most 
fitting and appropriate messenger of the Church to 
that interesting region. The Church concurred with 
him in this opinion : and a clergyman of eminent pi- 
ety, and distinguished talents, having the additional 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 147 

recommendation of belonging to the tribe of Judah,'* 
has been consecrated and sent forth to plant the first 
Reformed Church upon the hill of Zion, and to per- 
form the high duties of the Apostolic office in the 
See originally occupied by the Apostle St. James, 
after whom this modern Episcopate is named. The 
King of Prussia provides one half of the fund which 
is needed for the support of the Bishopric in Jerusa- 
lem, and the Queen of England the other. 

Who can think of such a fact as this, taking place 
within the last three months, — a Protestant Episco- 
pal Christian Church founded in 'the city of the 
Great King' — under the supervision of a descendant 
of Abraham — endowed by two of the most powerful 
sovereigns of Christendom — with the permission 
and sanction of the Sultan the main supporter of the 
Mohammedan imposture — and not be filled with 
amazement, as if the age of miracles were about to 
be restored ! Who can fail to recognise, in this stu- 
pendous event, an earnest of the greater wonders 
that are to be exhibited when, in the language of 
the prophet, " Kings shall be nursing fathers, and 
Queens shall be nursing mothers" to the converted 
Jewish Church of Christ ! Who can estimate the 
influence which, by God's blessing, this movement 
may exert upon the Jews — upon the corrupt Orien- 

* Rev'd Michael Solomon Alexander, D. D. 



148 THE HARVEST OP THE CHURCH. 

tal Churches — upon Mohammedanism — and upon 
the religious interests of the world ! 

To form a true judgment of the effect of this ex- 
traordinary movement we must look not only at its 
action upon the religions of the East, but also, at its 
reaction upon the cause of Christianity in the West 
It is understood to be one design of the good King 
of Prussia, in the endowment of the Bishopric of St. 
James' at Jerusalem, through that channel, combined 
with the Episcopacy in America and Scotland, to 
obtain an Episcopal ministry for his own dominions. 
Should this be effected, it would afford a most stri- 
king demonstration of the unity and Catholicity of 
the Protestant Churches. The placing of the Re- 
formed and Lutheran communities of Europe under 
a pure Episcopal regimen would impart a strength 
to the cause of the Reformation before which the 
power of the 'Man of sin' would be shaken to its 
foundations, and the work of propagating the Gos- 
pel would be carried forward with unexampled 
success.* 

* The aspect of this interesting- movement has undergone some 
change since the delivery of the above Lecture. Through the agency 
of the Chevalier JBunsen, the ambassador of Prussia, seconded 
by the personal influence of the Prussian Monarch, there is a fair 
prospect that the Archbishop of Canterbury and other English Bish- 
ops will be authorized by act of parliament to consecrate three Bishops 
for Prussia, by which means, the wishes of the pious Sovereign will 
be most readily accomplished. The following extract from a late 
English paper, will, in this connexion, be read with interest. 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 149 

The signs of the times afford ground for the belie** 
that a pure Christian Church of converted Jews will 

" In a sketch of the Chevalier Bunsen's distinguished career, 
which is given in another part of this paper, the reader will find al- 
lusions made to the strong" disposition which the late King of Prus- 
sia entertained, and which has been inherited from his father by the 
reigning Monarch, to obtain from England, and engraft upon the 
system of the Lutheran Church as it exists in his dominions, a true 
and Apostolic Episcopacy. We have reason to believe, that as the 
first step towards the accomplishment of that great end was taken 
. when, under the joint protection of England and Prussia, Dr. Alex- 
ander became Bishop of St. James, in Jerusalem, so his Majesty, 
availing himself of the opportunity which the christening of the 
Prince of Wales affords, comes over for the express purpose of ascer- 
taining how far the time has arrived for completing a work so hap - 
pily begun. Moreover, the fact of his Majesty putting himself per- 
sonally forward in the matter, not only proves that he has the ar- 
rangement much at heart, but seems to imply that on the part of the 
proper authorities here every encouragement will be given towards 
effecting it. We may, therefore, take it for granted, that all pre- 
liminary negotiations having been brought to a point, the King 
of Prussia's residence at the court of Queen Victoria will be ren- 
dered memorable in all time to come, by the fulfilment of a hope 
which only the most sanguine used to cherish, and which not even 
they, a quarter of a century ago, ever expected to see, in their own 
day, at least, realized. 

"There is no calculating the amount of good which this arrange- 
ment, when completed, must effect. Considered as a religious 
movement, it is by far the most important that has occurred since 
the Reformation. It will give back to the whole of Protestant Ger- 
many the Churchship of which she was for a long time too regard- 
less, and it will operate as a complete bar to any revival of the Neolo- 
gian absurdities, by which the theology of Protestant Germany was 
once disfigured. For nobody can doubt that so soon as Prussia has 
an Apostolical Episcopacy established, the smaller States which look 
up to her for protection, and in some sort depend upon her, will be 
14 



150 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

be established in Jerusalem, which will be an attrac- 
tive point to the multitudes of pilgrims annually re- 
sorting to the Holy City ; that the Gospel will be 

prompt to receive from her the very same boon which she has re- 
ceived^ from England. We therefore count on seeing", ere long, 
such a Church built up on the Continent of Europe as shall absorb— 
for we will not use the word extinguish — the many irregular com- 
munions which for three centuries have divided a large ; portion of it 
among them, and which, having no plea of a primitive usage to 
urge, nor deriving any extraneous support from the governments of 
the countries wherein they took root, have never been able to exer- 
cise any useful control over either the faith or the moral practice of 
the people. 

" So soon as this great work is finished, Christian Europe will see 
a sight, such as was never seen before. There will be no more room 
to object, any where, or on any ground, to the term, M The Protes- 
tant Church." The Protestant or Protesting Church, will then be 
as much one as the the Church of Rome, against whose corruptions 
her protest is directed. Tracing back her Episcopacy to the Apos- 
tles themselves, she will be able, whether in Germany, or in Eng- 
land, or in America, to say, that the religion which she teaches is 
that of the Bible, and that her doctrines are enforced bv an authori- 
ty not less venerable than that of the Supreme Pontiff himself. Will 
Rome, in the face of such a power as this, be able to retain her er- 
rors? When we have taken away from her the only solid argu- 
ment which she has ever urged, or been in a condition to urge, 
against us, will she long hold out against the force of truth? We 
do not believe it. If union be strength in civil matters, far more 
is the case so, where the cause of the Church is tried. Protestantism 
has hitherto fought at disadvantage against Popery, because the word 
Protestantism was received as synonymous with confusion in mat- 
ters of discipline and constitution— of heresies and schisms in points 
of faith. But, give us one Protesting Church— a Church, which 
protests against the corruptions of Popery— and we do not doubt, 
with God's blessing, that Popery will either reform itself, or, by and 
by, disaPpear from off the face of the earth." 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 151 

preached there with something like its primitive 
purity ; that converts will be added to the Christian 
community, from the wide ranks of the dispersion : 
so that, even if we should not be so highly favored 
in our day as to see the Law again going forth from 
Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, yet 
multitudes of converted Israelites may be gathered 
there, as " a people prepared for the Lord !_" 

But is it only among the Jews that a great work 
is to be accomplished preparatory to the coming of 
our Lord ? 0, no ! He is to call out from among 
the Gentiles a people for his praise. 

The preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, with 
a view to their conversion, has been in progress 
during generations and centuries that are past. We 
think, however, there are clear indications, given in 
the prophecies, that amidst the confusions and blas- 
phemies of " the last days," yea, that even amidst 
the great tribulations which will immediately pre- 
cede the coming of Christ, the work of converting 
the Heathen shall go forward with augmented energy, 
and with results unprecedented in the previous his- 
tory of the Church. 

We are told that, "In the last days" God will 
" pour out of his Spirit upon all flesh." This pro- 
phecy of Joel was, indeed, partly fulfilled on the day 
of Pentecost, but it will probably receive a more 
glorious fulfilment, when God will "show wonders 



152 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

in the heavens, and in the earth, blood, and fire, and 
pillars of smoke ; when the sun shall be turned into 
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great 
and terrible day of the Lord come."* We have 
shown that the same truth is taught in the text, 
where the progress of the Church is compared to the 
gradual growth of corn to perfection, "first the 
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the 
ear ;" and then, " when the fruit is brought forth, 
immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the 
harvest is ripe." It is also clearly intimated in the 
parable of the Great Supper, where we are told that 
" when supper-time was come," the Lord sent forth 
his servants into the lanes and streets, and into the 
highways and hedges, to compel them to come in; 
to bring in the halt, and the blind, and the maimed, — 
yea, all that they could, that his wedding might be 
furnished with guests. 

" To this glorious harvest of souls to be gathered 
into the Redeemer's Church before our Lord's se- 
cond coming, we would refer the fuller statement 
given in the Apocalypse, ' I looked, and behold a 
white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto 
the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, 
and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel 
came out of the Temple, crying with a loud voice to 
him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and 

* Joel, ii. 28-31. 



THE HARVEST OP THE CHURCH. 153 

reap : for the time is come for thee to reap ; for the 
harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the 
cloud thrust (or threw) in his sickle on the earth, 
and the earth was reaped.'* It does not appear that 
the Son of man is here represented as personally- 
coming to the earth ; it seems rather the gathering 
of a harvest before his personal coming; the harvest 
of the Church. This is a bright hope in the midst 
of the dark scenes connected with the revelations of 
Antichrist in the last days. 

" The analogy of the last gatherings in the Jewish 
dispensation as recorded in the Acts ; the promises 
of the latter rain as well as the former ;f the literal 
assurance that God will in the last days pour out of 
his Spirit upon all flesh ; the reason assigned for the 
delay of the coming of Christ, that ( God is long-suf- 
fering, not willing that any should perish, but that 
all should come to repentance/ may well strengthen 
these hopes. 

" Another prediction^ especially brings this vast 
harvest yet to he gathered within the time of the 
the great tribulation. The prophecy alludes to the 
feast of Tabernacles, called the feast of ingathering, 
when the harvest of the earth was fully completed, 
and which was to be observed in memory of the de- 
liverance from Egypt. The Passover and the Pen- 
tecost have had their antitypes, (in the crucifixion of 

* Rev. xiv. 15, 16. f Joel. ii. 23 ; Zech. x. 1. % Rev. vii. 
14* 



154 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

the Lamb of God as a sacrifice for sin, and the first 
great outpouring of the Holy Ghost :) that of the 
Tabernacles is yet to be observed,* and its glorious 
antitype will be exhibited in the extended conversion 
out of all nations to Christ: a great multitude which 
no man can number of all nations, and kindreds, and 
people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and be- 
fore the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms 
in their hands. But we are expressly told ' These 
are they which came out of great tribulation.' The 
original is still more emphatic — out of the tribula- 
tion — even the great one. There is but one such 
tribulation ; and it is yet to come. Hence we may 
conclude that the great harvest will then be ga- 
thered. 77 ! 

Such, my brethren, are the intimations given in 
the prophecies respecting the harvest spoken of in 
our text ; and, unless we are greatly deceived, we 
may behold, in the signs of the times, indications, 
too plain to be mistaken, that the time for their ful- 
filment cannot be very far off. 

Do the prophecies inform us that God will poui 
out of his spirit upon all flesh? In how many me- 
morable instances has this inestimable blessing, with- 
out which all others are vain, begun to.be enjoyed? In 
answer to prayer, not only in favoured cities and re- 
gions of our own country, — but in all parts of the 

*Zech. xiv. 13. f Bickersteth's Guide io the Prophecies, p. 258. 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 155 

Christian world, the Spirit of grace has come down 
"like rain upon the mown grass, and like showers 
which water the earth." Extensive and powerful re- 
vivals of religion* have taken place, in which multi- 
tudes have been brought to add the life to the profes- 
sion of faith, and the power to the form of godliness. 
There is, probably, at the present time, more humili- 
ty, faith, energy, and holy benevolence in the Church 
of God than was ever manifested at any former pe- 
riod, except in its earliest days. 

The outpouring of the Spirit has been followed, 
not only with individual conversions, and reforma- 
tions of communities, but also with increased ef- 

* The author need not say that,, by the use of this abused phrase, 
he ha3 no wish to sanction those fanatical excitements gotten up by 
human machinery, and conducted upon principles essentially Pela- 
gian, by which so much harm has been done to the souls of men, 
and so much dishonor brought upon the cause of Christ among some 
Christian denominations in different parts of our country. We have 
reason to be thankful that our fixed Liturgy, and other venerable 
institutions of the Church afford a barrier of protection to our com- 
munion against those religious hurricanes, which, too oftenj leave 
nothing but barrenness and desolation in their train. By * a revival 
of religion' we mean a season of more than ordinary zeal, activity, 
and enjoyment among Christian ministers and people, accompanied 
by the awakening and conversion of many sinners : a season which 
in the moral world, has a strong resemblance to that of Spring in the 
natural world : and whose delightful influence must be ascribed to 
the special grace of the Holy Spirit giving more than ordinary ef- 
fect to the preaching of the Gospel and other established means of 
grace. With a view to such blessed results surely every Christian 
will pray " O Lord, revive thy work !" 



156 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

forts for the propagation of the Gospel, and the sal- 
vation of the world. As the refreshing showers of 
Spring and the genial warmth of Summer are fol- 
lowed by Autumnal fruits, even so the reviving 
influences of grace have been followed by works of 
piety and love. Do the Scriptures teach us that " at 
evening time there shall be light;" that when the 
wedding supper of the Lamb is just ready the ser- 
vants shall be sent out, in greater numbers, and with 
more pressing importunity, to bring in the guests ? 
We behold in the missionary operations of the pre- 
sent day, something like a revival of apostolic zeal, 
a continual multiplication of laborers in the Gospel 
field, and a growing determination, on the part of 
the Church, to plant the standard of the cross in 
every Continent, and upon every Island, — till men 
full of faith and of the Holy Ghost shall proclaim, to 
every nation and tribe of the Gentile world, the un- 
searchable riches of Christ.* 

* The author is far from believing- that any body of professing 
Christians in this day comes up to the Apostolic standard, or per- 
forms its full amount of duty in the work;of Missions. The Moravian 
brethren come nearer to it than any others : for among them, their 
entire ministry, and the whole of their surplus funds, are devoted 
to that work. But in our branch of the Christian Church the inte- 
rest in this holy cause goes forward at a very sluggish pace, even if it 
be at all progressive. The exhausted state of our Missionary fund, 
leading to the necessity of curtailing our operations at home and 
abroad, affords a sad contrast between our inclination and our ability to 
diffuse the blessings of the Gospel— and at the same time, a humiliating 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 157 

Do the prophecies lead us to believe that the Gos- 
pel will be attended with increasing power, and that 
there will be a great ingathering of souls to Christ, 
who will swell the number of the subjects of his 
Millenial reign on earth ?< Lift up your eyes and 
look upon the fields, — see if they are not already 
whitening for the harvest ! The prospects of mod- 
ern Missionaries, in every part of the heathen world 
where they are already planted, are, perhaps, as en- 
couraging as could reasonably be expected, consider- 
ing the immense difficulties with which they have 
had to contend. In some regions their labours 
have been crowned with a remarkable and signal 
blessing from God. The natives of the South Sea 
and Sandwich Islands have abandoned their debasing 
idolatries, and, to a great extent, have experienced the 
reforming and sanctifying power of the Gospel of 
Christ. In many parts of India the Gospel has prov- 
ed itself ( mighty through God, to the pulling down 
of the strong holds' of sin and satan — and to the pu- 
rifying of some of the most polluted of the human 
race. Within the last two years, in Krishnaghur, 
one hundred native villages have received the Gos- 
pel, and more than three thousand intelligent and 
well educated converts have been added to the 

illustration of our apathy in redeeming- the pledge given to the 
world when we proclaimed ourselves to be a Missionary Church ! O 
Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to do thy will ! 



158 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

Church of Christ* And within the past week we 
have received the delightful intelligence that the poor 
degraded Druses of Mount Lebanon have sent an 
earnest petition to the Church of England to furnish 
them with Christian schools and Christian missiona- 
ries. 

These blessed tokens of triumph over the powers 
of darkness have led some to believe that the Mille- 
nium is nearly past ; others, that we are now bask- 
ing in the splendid rays of its meridian ; and others 
again, that we behold its early dawn. But we can- 
not persuade ourselves to believe that any state of 
things which the Church has beheld, or does now 
behold, exhibits any striking resemblance to the 
glory and splendor — the purity and joy which the 
Scriptures speak of as characteristic of the holy, uni- 
versal kingdom of the Messiah. No. The scenes 
described in terms of sublimity and rapture, as per- 
taining to that Millenial reign — which we shall soon 
proceed to consider — are widely different from that 
variegated, mixed, and apparently contradictory state 
of things which marks the present condition of the 
Church, and of the world. We do not believe that, 
under the influence of the means now in progress, 
the whole world is to be converted, but simply, as the 
Scripture expresses it, that " the Gospel must first 

* Vide, the interesting- letters of Daniel Wilson, the Apostolic 
Bishop of Calcutta, addressd to the Church Missionary Society. 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 159 

be preached as a witness to all nations:" and then 
cometh the End. We look upon the Church as now 
performing that office in reference to the second 
coming of Christ which John the Baptist performed 
in reference to his first coming. In the success of 
the Gospel, the outpouring of the Spirit, and the 
consequent conversion of souls, at the present pe- 
riod, — we behold 'the first fruits' of that mighty 
harvest which is to be gathered when f a great multi- 
tude which no man could number, of all nations, and 
kindreds, and people, and tongues, shall stand before 
the throne, and before the Lamb/ as a people for the 
Lord, prepared to welcome him at his coming. 

Now is there any thing in this view to discourage 
Christian effort, or to lessen the importance of the 
Missionary work ! What ! because the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh-, shall his servants, therefore, 
slumber and sleep ! Should it not, rather, be the 
most powerful incentive to faith and benevolence — 
to activity and prayer? • "The night is far spent, 
the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works 
of darkness, and let us put on the "armor of light." 
Behold, Christian ! thy Lord cometh, to separate 
the tares from the wheat — the goats from the sheep 
— the wicked from the just ! What thou doest, do 
quickly ! There are millions of your fellow crea- 
tures who are unprepared for his coming. ! hasten 
to send to them the messengers of life ! hasten to re- 



160 THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 

claim them from their idolatries, and to convert them 
from their sins, before that great and terrible day of 
the Lord shall come ! 

Ah ! Friends and Brethren, let us realise our deep, 
personal, individual interest in this fearful theme. 
We are every one of us ripening, for a harvest of 
glory, or for a harvest of wrath. Every day we are 
advancing to maturity either in holiness or in sin. 
Every hour we are sowing the seeds of blessedness 
or of perdition. "Be not deceived — God is not 
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
reap : he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap 
corruption ; but he that soweth to the spirit, shall of 
the spirit reap life everlasting." Soon — God only 
knows how soon — the commmand will be given, 
" Thrust ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!" 

Do we flatter ourselves that, because we are nomi- 
nal Christians, baptized into the faith — and enjoying 
the outward privileges of the Church, — we have no- 
thing to apprehend at the coming of our Lord ? Ah, 
wretched delusion ! For the Son of man will then 
come "to gather out of his kingdom" or Church, 
"all that offend, and them that do iniquity," and to 
assign them their portion with unbelievers. The 
kingdom of heaven, or the Gospel dispensation, is 
like a net cast into the sea, which, when dragged to 
the shore, contained fishes good and bad: the good 
were carefully preserved, but the bad were cast 



THE HARVEST OF THE CHURCH. 161 

away. The Church is like a field in which the tares 
and the wheat are growing together until the har- 
vest: then the wheat shall be gathered into the garner, 
but the tares shall be thrown into the fire. The wise 
virgins who took oil in their vessels, and whose 
lamps were trimmed and burning, went into the 
marriage feast ; but the foolish virgins were left in 
outer darkness. The Lord's fan will be in his 
hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor ; and 
will gather the grain into his garner, but will burn 
up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 

! what will be our doom in that day ? This 
question is only to be answered by another : What 
are our characters now ? If we be humble, renew- 
ed, devoted followers of Christ, we may — even 
amidst the terrors of the last day — lift up our heads 
with joy, knowing that our redemption is at hand. 
But, if we remain impenitent and unconverted, 
where can we hide our guilty heads ? In all the 
agony of remediless despair, we shall cry to the 
rocks, ' Fall on us ! and to the mountains, Cover us ! 
and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon 
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb ! For 
the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall 
be able to stand V 



15 



LECTURE SEVENTH. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 



Revelation, xx Chapter, 1-6 Verses. 
" And I saw an angel come down from heaven having- the key 
of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid 
hold on the dragon that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, 
and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottom- 
less pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should 
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be ful- 
filled ; and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw 
thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given 
unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the 
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not wor- 
shipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark 
upon their foreheads or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned 
with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not 
again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first re- 
surrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection ; on such the second death hath no power ; but they shall be 
priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand 
years." 

In our day much is said of the Millenium. It is 
a common theme in the pulpit and on the platform. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 163 

It animates the conceptions of the Poet and the 
glowing periods of the Orator. It is held forth as 
the great incentive to Missionary effort ; the glori- 
ous reward of self-denial, liberality and prayer in 
the good work of propagating the Gospel. 

But what is the prevailing idea as to that state of 
coming blessedness ? According to the popular 
theory of the day, the Millenium will not be a new 
dispensation : it will scarcely be a different condition 
of things from that which now exists upon earth. 
There will be, indeed, an enlargement and extension 
of the Church so as to embrace all nations. There 
will be a wider diffusion of scriptural truth, and a 
more liberal dispensation of the influence of the Holy 
Spirit ; but Christ will continue to live and reign in 
heaven, just as he does now. The only difference 
between that state of things and the present is — that 
then a large majority, or, as some think, all the in- 
habitants of the earth will be truly pious, — whereas, 
now, but a small part is so. 

According to this view, the Millenium will be the 
reign of the Church, not of the Lord and Head of 
the Church. The Church will continue to be, then, 
as it now is, under God, the great illuminator of the 
world. But this state of things would be as incon- 
sistent with the scriptural accounts of the Millenium, 
as it would be to regard the Moon as the source of 
light in the Solar System. We love and venerate the 



164 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

Church : but we cannot receive that formalistic theo- 
logy, which, losing sight of her merely instrumental 
and subordinate character, puts her in the place of 
the great Head of the Church, either in the work of 
our justification, sanctification, or glorification. 

Now we ask — is the wide extension of the Church, 
under its present aspect and relations — all that is 
to be expected in answer to the petitions we daily of- 
fer in obedience to our Lord's command : " Thy king- 
dom come: thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven . ? " Is this all that is intended by the decla- 
ration that the saints " shall live and reign with 
Christ for a thousand years?" Is this answerable 
to the state of things described in these memorable 
words—" I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming 
down from God. out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice 
out of heaven, saying, Behold the Tabernacle of God 
is ivith men, and he will dwell ivith them, and they 
shall be his people, and God himself shall be with 
them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away 
all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there 
be any more pain : for the former things are passed 
aivay. And he that sat upon the throne, said, — 
Behold, I make all things new?"* Is a wide ex- 
tension of evangelical knowledge and influence, as 

*Rcv. xxi 2-6. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 165 

now existing in the Church, all that is intended to 
be described by this strong language — " And the city 
had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine 
in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and 
the Lamb is the light thereof: and the nations of 
them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:"* 
"thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy 
moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine 
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning 
shall be ended ?"t 

We need give no answer to these inquiries. For, 
although we have formerly advocated the popular 
theory ourselves, and do sincerely respect the wis- 
dom and piety of many who continue to be its sup- 
porters ; yet, we have taken occasion, in this course 
of sermons, more than once, to express the opinion 
that, the common belief that there will be a conver- 
sion of all nations to the faith of Christ and a state 
of universal peace and holiness throughout the world 
for the space of a thousand years, before the second 
Advent of our Lord, — is, to our view, utterly irre- 
concilable with what the Scriptures teach us respect- 
ing the revelations of Antichrist and the wickedness 
of "the last days" — and with the prophecies of the 
awful judgments upon irreligious systems and wick- 
ed nations that will usher in the solemnities of our 
Lord's final coming : that it is also directly opposed 

* Rev. xxi. 23-24. t Isaiah, 60. 20. 

15* 






166 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

to the clearly revealed truths of the restoration and 
conversion of the Jews — and to what our Lord has 
taught us about the mixture of the righteous and 
the wicked in his Church until the harvest of separa- 
tion shall take place at his coming — and to the sud- 
denness with which his manifestation at the last da} r 
will overtake a thoughtless and unprepared world. 
We would not willingly wound the feelings of our 
Christian brethren by uttering a sentence which 
may be deemed dogmatical or offensive. But we must 
say that the more we reflect upon the popular doc- 
trine of the Millenium, and the more thoroughly we 
examine it by the light of Scripture, the more per- 
fect our conviction becomes that it is unworthy of 
support and credence. 

Dissatisfied, then, with commonly received opin- 
ions on this sublime and delightful theme of pro- 
phetic annunciation, we would now renewedly pro- 
secute our inquiries for the truth. With an awe and 
reverence upon our spirits, like that with which the 
soul of Moses was chastened when the command was 
given "put thy shoes from off thy feet, for the 
ground whereon thou standest is holy ground," — we 
would now endeavour to ascertain what the Scrip- 
tures teach us to believe respecting the great day of 
Christ's "appearing and kingdom" — his judgment 
of the world — or, his reign upon earth. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 167 

The only passage of Scripture which fixes the 
limit of time to the earthly reign of Christ, and 
which is the origin of the commonly received term 
Millenium, or period of a thousand years, is that 
which we have selected as a text : "And I saw an 
angel come down from heaven, having the key of 
the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. 
And he laid hold on the dragon that old serpent, 
which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a 
thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless 
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that 
he should deceive the nations no more, till the thou- 
sand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must 
be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and 
they that sat upon them, and judgment was given 
unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were 
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word 
of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, 
neither his image, neither had received his mark 
upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they 
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. This is the first 
resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part 
in the first resurrection : on such the second death 
hath no power ; but they shall be priests of God 
and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thou- 
sand years." 



• 



168 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

This book of the Apocalypse is full of mysteries, 
and highly symbolical and figurative in its charac- 
ter and style. Yet all admit that there is herein 
described, by the pen of inspiration, a series of con- 
flicts between Christ and his Church on the one 
hand — and the enemies of truth and holiness on the 
other; — and the result is, the overthrow of the lat- 
ter, and the perfect, everlasting triumph of the for- 
mer. Notwithstanding the generally figurative 
style of the Apocalypse, and the difficulty of inter- 
preting some of its symbols, its common purport and 
leading design are sufficiently manifest. Even so 
we are willing to admit that a part of the language 
of the text is figurative, (for example, what is said 
of the binding of Satan with a chain — and a seal 
being put upon him ;) yet the figures are easily un- 
derstood, and no intelligent reader will be at a loss 
to infer from the passage these plainly revealed 
truths. 1. That the influence of Satan will be won- 
derfully restrained, so that he shall not deceive the 
nations during the space of a thousand years. 2. 
That, during the same period, Christ shall reign 
upon earth. 3. That the Martyrs, and other Saints 
shall be partakers with Christ in this Millenial reign. 
4. The blessed state of things described is called 
"the first resurrection" and over those who have 
part in it the second death shall have no power. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 169 

These truths stand out boldly and prominently 
upon the very face of the text ; and are not to be 
questioned. But then, the majority of modern di- 
vines, like the excellent commentator, Mr. Scott, 
contend that all these things are to be spiritually 
interpreted. They tell us that there is to be no 
resurrection of the Martyrs and other saints, but 
their spirit, or temper of mind, is to be revived in 
the Christians who shall live at that favoured period.* 
Christ will not personally live and reign upon the 
earth, but his Gospel will universally prevail, and 
he will reign by his Spirit in the hearts of men for 

*«« The term "irvuciq, rendered 'souls' in the text, seems employ- 
ed by the Holy Spirit purposely to fix the meaning 1 . Three terms 
are employed to denote the constitution of man; JTvevu,* spirit, 
^v%n soul, tray,*, body, (1 Thess. v. 23.,) Where the sameness of 
character, or common principles pervading- a class or body of men are 
intended, Uvsvpu, or spirit is employed. (Luke, ix. 55; 1 Cor. vi. 
17 ; Eph. iv. 4 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 32 ; 1 John, iv. 1 ; Rom. viii. 15.) It is 
the term employed when gifts of federal blessing to the Church, and 
not personal rewards to its several members, are announced. (Rev. 
xi. 11.) If a figurative resurrection of principles and not of per- 
sons had been designed, the word UviviA.cc would certainly have 
been used. The term "ivffl is used with the same constancy to de- 
note what in each man is distinctively personal, and therefore the sub 
ject of reward and punishment. ("Mark, viii. 36; Matt. xvi. 26. 27. 
x. 39; Rom. ii. 9; 1 John, iii. 16. ) We are thus assured that when 
the vision speaks of the souls of them that were slain for the word of 
God, it brings no message of vicarious blessings which Christians 
dwelling at ease are to receive as it were, by proxy, for the saints 
martyred of old, but of God's faithfulness and truth in rewarding- 
with personal glory his once-afflicted and suffering servants.'* 

BtCKEHSTETH. 






170 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

a thousand years. But, we may ask, does not the 
spirit of the Martyrs and departed saints virtually 
animate faithful Christians of every age 7 Are 
they not like-minded, having the mind of Christ? 
Does not Christ now rule in the hearts of his people, 
by the Holy Spirit ? If the resurrection of the Mar- 
tyrs and saints at the beginning of the thousand 
years, be but a figurative resurrection, — then the 
resurrection of "the rest of the dead," at the close 
of the thousand j^ears, must be figurative also : and, 
of course, the final judgment of the wicked, and the 
destruction of death and hell, is converted into a 
mere metaphor ! 

If we presume to ask, why this mystical interpre- 
tation of the text is to be forced upon us ? What is 
the answer? Why, (such is substantially the an- 
swer of Mr. Scott:) the Scriptures inform us that 
Christ's second coming will be to judge the world : 
there will be no resurrection of the dead till the 
general resurrection at the last day — when all — the 
righteous and the wicked, will be raised together, 
and at the same time, receive a sentence, to heaven 
or hell, according to the deeds done in the body : 
therefore, "'the first resurrection" means a revival 
of primitive piety in the hearts of living Christians; 
and the reign of Christ for a thousand years on earth 
means the universal extension and triumph of his 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 171 

Gospel, for that space of time, before he shall come 
to judge the world in righteousness. 

This argument against the personal reign of Christ 
upon earth, is what the logicians call " a begging of 
the question ;" for it assumes the very point in dis- 
pute. It takes for granted that the Millenial reign 
of Christ and the judgment of the great day are two 
distinct, different, and independent things. Whereas, 
the very object of our present inquiry is to ascertain 
whether they are not precisely the same. 

We have been accustomed to think of the day of 
judgment as a short period of twelve or twenty -four 
hours, ushered in by the voice of the archangel and 
the trump of God — the resurrection of the righteous 
and the wicked simultaneously— -their congregation 
before one bar — their trial and immediate consign- 
ment to everlasting happiness or wo. This common 
idea is chiefly founded upon the description of the 
judgment which bur Saviour gives in the twenty- 
fifth Chapter of St. Matthew ; where he tells us that 
the " Son of man shall be seated upon the throne of 
his glory, and before him shall be gathered all na- 
tions, and he will proceed to separate them as a shep- 
herd divideth his sheep from the goats.' 7 * Nothing 
more is represented here, than the everlasting sepa- 
ration that will be made by the Judge between the 
righteous and the wicked according to their respec- 

* Matt. xxv. 31-32, &c. 



172 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

tive characters and deeds. But there is nothing 
which will enable us to determine the time which 
will be employed in the process of judgment. 

The fact of its being called a day — " the great 
day" — "the day of judgment" — "the day of the 
Lord," and the like, does not settle the period of its 
duration. For, the word "day" though often used 
in Scripture to designate a period of twenty-four 
hours, is also often used to describe a long — and 
sometimes an indefinite period. Thus we read of 
"the day in which God created the heavens and the 
earth,"* though we know that the work of crea- 
tion occupied six days, and many are of opinion, 
that each creative day was a very long period of 
time. The years of captivity in Egypt and Baby- 
lon, are sometimes designated as the day of captivi- 
ty. The forty years pilgrimage of the children of 
Israel, is called "the day of temptation in the wil- 
derness." The period of probation for the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem is so designated by our Lord, "if 
thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy 
day." The whole Gospel dispensation is spoken of 
as a day, "Behold now is the day of salvation." It 
is applied to the continuance of human life, as a period 
of grace and probation : " to-day — after so long a 
time, while it is called to-day, if ye will hear his 
voice." It is also applied to the world to come, or 

*Gen. ii. 4. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 173 

eternity : " The night is far spent — the day is at 
hand."* St. Peter, in speaking of this very subject 
of the coming of Christ to judgment, says — "One 
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day."t 

As there is nothing in the word day to limit the 
duration of the judgment ; so is there nothing in the 
wova\ judgment to confine the acts or operations of 
that day to the work of a formal examination of the 
lives and pronouncing the doom of the children of 
men. To judge, according to the Scriptural use of 
the phrase, means to rule and govern — to protect 
and bless, as well as to adjudicate and punish. Israel 
was successively governed by Judges and Kings. 
Sampson, Gideon, and Jeptha were, under the title 
of Judges, deliverers and protectors of Israel ; and no 
less than David, Solomon, and Hezekiah, were types 
of Him who is to be, pre-eminently, Judge and 
Rider of his Church and people. 

The chief prophecies of Christ as Judge show that 
Regal dominion was to be an essential prerogative 
of his office. "Arise God, judge the earth ; for 
thou shalt inherit all nations. 7 ^ " For the Lord 
cometh to judge the earth ; with righteousness shall 
he judge the world and the people with equity."|| 
" let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou 
shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the 

* Rom. xiii. 12. |2 Peter, iii. S. % Ps. lxxxii. 8. || Ps. xcviii. 9. 
16 



174 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

nations upon earth."* " Behold a king shall reign 
and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice 
in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and 
Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby 
he shall be called, The Lord our righteousness."! 
" And he shall judge among many people, and re- 
buke strong nations afar off: and they shall beat their 
swords into plough-shares and their spears into pru- 
ning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.".! 
These prophecies are believed by all Christians to re- 
fer to the Messiah ; and it seems impossible for lan- 
guage more strongly to assert the union of his king- 
dom and his judgment. 

We incline therefore to the opinion that the Scrip- 
tures which speak of Christ's coming to judge the 
world, and those which speak of his coming to reign 
as head and king of a universal empire, are of like 
application, and refer to the same great events. If 
those texts which relate to his coming at the last day 
to judge the world are to be literally interpreted as 
teaching a personal coming and visible manifesta- 
tion — then we see not upon what sound principle 
we can give to those which relate to his coming to 
reign, and establish a universal kingdom, a mystical 
and spiritual interpretation, — for they are of the 
same character, and refer, so far as we can perceive, 

* Ps. lxvii. 4. | Jcr. xxiii. 5. % Micah, iv. 3. I3. ii. 4. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 175 

to the same manifestation. There are not to be 
two future advents of the Messiah. The Son of man 
is to come but once to be seated on the throne of his 
glory. 

The great difficulty which some have to surmount 
in adopting this interpretation, arises probably from 
the false opinion that the great day of judgment — or 
the day of our Lord's second advent, means a com- 
mon day of twenty-four hours. But, as the day of 
his first advent, when he came in humiliation, only 
to suffer and die, covered a period of more than 
thirty years, why may we not believe that the day 
of his second advent, when He will come in his 
glory, to destroy Antichrist — to convert the Jews — 
to establish a universal kingdom — to raise the mar- 
tyrs and the saints — to create a new heavens and a 
new earth — to glorify his redeemed, and punish the 
wicked with everlasting destruction — will cover a 
much longer period of time : even that which the 
text assigns as the duration of his Millenial reign ? 
Surely, if there be any day to which the words of 
St. Peter are applicable, it must be the last great 
day — " one day is with the Lord as a thousand 

TEARS, AND A THOUSAND YEARS AS ONE DAY." 

You may now perceive that there is no inconsis- 
tency between our doctrine and the account which 
our Lord gives in the twenty-fifth Chapter of St. 
Matthew of the division to be made between the 



176 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

sheep and the goats at the day of Judgment. You 
have only to suppose, (as the Rev. Joseph Mede 
does,) that the resurrection and acquittal of the right- 
eous take place on the morning of that great day, 
and the resurrection and condemnation of the wicked, 
in the evening, — or, at its close. As our text de- 
clares — " the rest of the dead," i. e. those who had 
no part in the first resurrection, "lived not again till 
the thousand years were ended." They are then to 
be raised ; . to be judged out of the things which 
are written in the book, and to be cast into the lake 
of fire. 

That this idea of the sameness or oneness of the 
day of judgment and the Millenium spoken of in 
the text, is not idle or visionary, will manifestly 
appear, we think, from a brief examination of some 
of the passages which foretell tbem. 

Our Lord forewarned his disciples that after the 
great tribulation, they should " see the Son of man 
coming in a cloud with power and great glor}^."* 
Again — "When the Son of Man shall come in his 
glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he 
sit upon the throne of his glory. "t The angel said 
to the sorrowing disciples who gazed upon the bright 
pathway of their ascending Lord : "That same Jesus 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go 
into heaven.":]: " Behold the Lord cometh with ten 

*St. Lukexxi. 27. J St. Matt. xxv. 31. t Acts. i. 16 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 177 

thousand of his saints to execute Judgment upon 
all."* " Behold he cometh with clouds, and every 
eye shall see him, and they also which pierced 
him : and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail be- 
cause of him."t " And I looked and behold a white 
cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like the Son of 
man.":j; These texts are believed by all Christians 
to relate to the coming of our Lord to judgment, 
and to teach that there will then be a visible manifes- 
tation of his glory as the Son of man. 

Now let us look at a few of those which .relate to 
his coming to reign and establish his kingdom. 
" I saw in the night visions," says Daniel, " and be- 
hold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds 
oj 'heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they 
brought him near before him." Surely this is pre- 
cisely the same manifestation of which our Lord 
speaks when he says, " The Son of Man shall come 
in the clouds — in his own glory, and the glory of his 
Father." But Daniel speaks of his coming to estab- 
lish his kingdom : " And there was given him do- 
minion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
nations and languages should serve him : his domin- 
ion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be de- 
stroyed. And the kingdom, and dominion, and the 
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
*Jude, 14. fEev. i. 7. JRer. xiv. 14. 

16* 



ITS THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most 
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
and all dominions shall serve and obey him."* 

You remember our Lord's promise to his twelve 
Apostles, given for their special encouragement 
amidst the trials and persecutions they were to en- 
counter for his sake. "Ye which have followed me, 
— in the Regeneration" — (i. e. the time when all 
things shall be made new,) "when the Son of Man 
shall be seated upon the throne of his glory, Ye also 
shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel." You remember also, a more gene- 
ral promise, of like import, made to every faith- 
ful disciple. " To him that overcometh, will I give 
to sit ivith me in my throne : even as I also over- 
came, and am set down with my Father on his 
throne."t When will these promises be fulfilled, 
except at the time spoken of in the text, when the 
saints shall live and reign ivith Christ for a thou- 
sand years ? In one of his parables, our Lord, to 
correct the false impression of his disciples that "the 
kingdom of God should immediately appear," com- 
pares the Son of Man to "a nobleman who went into 
a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and 
to return."! Now where did Christ go to receive 
for himself a kingdom — or, authority to reign, ex- 
cept to his Father's court, — who said to him, " sit 

* Dan. vii. 13, 14, 27. t Malt. xix. 28. X St. Luke, xix. 11 , 12. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 179 

thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy 
footstool?" The Father has given him a name 
which is above every name : that at the name of 
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven 
and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and 
that every tongue should confess that he is Lord to 
the glory of God the Father." When will Jesus re- 
turn to be inaugurated in his kingdom, except when 
he shall come again in the clouds of heaven, having 
upon his vesture and on his thigh a name written — 
King of Kings, and Lord or Lords ?■* or — in the 
language of St. Paul, when he shall " come to judge 
the quick and the dead, at his ajipearing and his 
kingdom . ? "t 

Other passages might be quoted, and a more elabo- 
rate argument be offered upon this part of our sub- 
ject ; but we trust enough has been said to show 
that we do not " follow cunningly devised fables" 
when we assert our belief that the coming of Christ 
to judge the world, and his coming to establish his 
universal kingdom, — are but different forms of ex- 
pression relating to the same great event : — that the 
day of judgment and the Millenial reign of Christ 
upon earth indicate the same period, — and will in- 
clude the most awfully grand and glorious scenes 
that will ever be presented in the sublime drama of 
this world's history. 

*Rev, xix. 16. f2 Tim. iv. 1. 



180 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

To a brief sketch of those wonderful scenes which 
the pen of prophecy has connected with the Mille- 
nium, or the judgment of the great day, we now in- 
vite your attention. We know little of that new 
dispensation — or "world to come, whereof we 
speak." We cannot attempt to explain the precise 
order, or to give an accurate description of the stu- 
pendous events which will then take place. But 
with diffidence and awe we would give a faint per- 
spective grouping of the outline of the picture as it ap- 
pears to the eye of faith through the glass of prophecy. 

1. The downfall of Antichrist, — the destruction 
of the Man of Sin, — the overthrow and subjuga- 
tion of the enemies of the Lord, — the restoration 
and conversion of the Jews — followed by the con- 
version of the Gentile nations — which have already 
received our attention, — will be, as we suppose, 
events connected with the glorious appearing of the 
Son of God in the clouds of heaven — ushering in 
the bright morning of that everlasting day. 

2. The next sublime event which arises to view 
in our prospective glance is that lovely scene so 
graphically described in our text, as i{ the first 
resurrection" " I saw thrones, and they that sat 
upon them,, and judgment was given unto! them: 
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for 
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and 
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 181 

image, neither had received his mark upon their 
foreheads, or in their hands : and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is the 
first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath 
part in the first resurrection ; on such the second 
death hath no power ; but they shall be priests of 
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thou- 
sand years. 77 

We have already shown that this is no shadowy 
metaphor, no unreal picture, — no imaginary revival 
of spiritual principles and affections ; but a real resur- 
rection to eternal life and blessedness of those who 
died as Martyrs for Jesus, with all those departed ones 
who kept their religious profession and character 
pure and uncorrupt. It was to this the Apostle Paul 
looked forward with holy hope, when he submitted 
patiently to toil and self-denial, — to watchfulness, 
and fasting, and persecution, exclaiming— "If by any 
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the 
dead" It was not simply that he might be raised 
— which was the object of such ardent desire to the 
Apostle's mind — for he knew that this would be 
common to all the dead; but that he might have 
part in the first resurrection — so that he might 
" live and reign with Christ." It was the desire of 
this blessedness — pre-eminently promised to the 
Martyrs, — which kindled up in the minds of early 
Christians such an inextinguishable desire to be 



182 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

thrown to the wild beasts — to be beheaded — to 
embrace the stake — or in any way to lay down their 
lives for the testimony of Jesus. 

That there would be such a resurrection of the 
saints at the coming of the Messiah to establish his 
kingdom, was the common belief of the ancient 
Jews. In proof of this it will suffice to quote a 
passage from the book of " The Wisdom of Solo- 
mon. " We make the quotation, — not as evidence 
of the truth of the doctrine ; (for it is from an 
Apochryphal book,) but simply as a proof of what 
was the common belief and expectation of the 
chosen people of God in former times. "But the 
souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and 
there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of 
the unwise they seemed to die ; and their departure 
is taken for misery — but they are in peace .... their 
hope is full of immortality. In the time of their 
visitation" — when is that but at the coming of the 
Messiah ? — " they shall shine : . . . they shall judge 
the nations, and have dominion over the people, 
and their Lord shall reign forever."* This 
confident expectation of the Jews of the resurrection 
of the just at the coming and kingdom of the Mes- 
siah, was probably founded upon the remarkable 
words of Daniel in reference to the same event. 
a At that time shall Michael" (meaning one who is 

* Wisdom, iii. 1-8. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 183 

like God,) " stand up ; the Great Prince which 
standeth for the children of thy people ;" — who is 
this but the Messiah — the Prince of Peace ? " and 
there shall be a time of trouble, such as there never 
was since there was a nation, even to that time : and 
at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one 
that shall be found written in the book. And 
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
shall awake : ... and they that be wise, shall shine 
as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that 
turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and 



*Dan. xii. 1-4. 

This common belief among 1 the Jews seems to have been not only 
recognized, but confirmed, by our Saviour in his discourse with the 
Sadducecs upon the doctrine of the resurrection, as recorded by St. 
Matt. xxii. 31-32, and by St. Mark xii. 26-27. Christ having- quoted 
the address of Jehovah to Moses. [Exodus, hi. 6.] " I am the God 
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ;" imme- 
diately adds, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living ; there- 
fore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must one day rise from the dead. 
" But how does this conclusion follow ? Do not the spirits of Abra- 
ham, Isaac and Jacob yet live ? God should then be the God of the 
living, though their bodies should never rise again. Therefore 
some Socinians argue from this place, that the spirits of the just lie 
in the sleep of death until the resurrection. Or might not the Sad- 
ducees have replied, the meaning to be of what God had been, not of 
what he should be ? Viz. That he was the God who had chosen their 
fathers, and made a covenant with them : / am the God who brought 
Abraham out of Chaldec, who appeared to Isaac and Jacob whlist they 
lived, fyc. But how would this then make for the resurrection'? Surely 
it doth. He that could not err said it. Let us therefore see how it 
may. 



1'34 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

Surely the precious hope of a resurrection of the 
saints at the coming of the Lord, thus revealed to 
the Jews, has not been denied to Christians under 
the more gracious revelation of the Gospel. We 
have seen that it is clearly revealed in the text; 
"they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand 
years. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and 
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : 
on such the second death hath no power ; but they 
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 

I say therefore the words must be understood with supply of what 
they have reference unto; which is the covenant that the Lord made 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; in respect whereof he calls himself 
their God. This covenant was to give unto them and to their seed 
the land wherein they were strangers. Mark it. Not to their seed 
or offspring- Only, but to themselves. To Abraham, Gen. xiii. 15. xv. 7. 
xvii. 8. To Isaac, Gen. xxvi. 3. To Jacob, Gen. xxxv. 12. To all 
three, Exodus vi. 4-8. Deut. i. 8. xi. 21. xxx. 20. If God then 
make good to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob this his covenant, whereby 
lie undertook to be their God, then must they needs one day live 
again to inherit the promised land, which hitherto they have not 
done. For the God that thus coveHantcd with them, covenanted 
not to make his promise good to them dead but living. This is the 
strength of the divine argument, and irrefragable; which otherwise 
would not infer any such conclusion. 

And this to be our Saviour's meaning may appear, in that the 
Jews at that time used from these many places, thus understood, to 
infer the resurrection against the Sadducces, out of the Law. As it is 
to be seen expressly of two of them (Ex. vi. 4. Deut. xi. 2\) in the 
Talmud." Meje's works, Book iv. p. 801 

This learned and pious writer, in further confirmation of his ex- 
position, gives an argument founded upon Heb. xi. 8-9-10-13-16. 
and also upon the song of Zacharias, St. Luke. i. 72; to which the 
reader is referred . 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 185 

reign with him a thousand years. " Is it confirmed 
in other parts of the New Testament ? Let us look 
at the sublime and beautiful discourse upon the re- 
surrection contained in the fifteenth chapter of St. 
Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians. "For as by 
man came death, by man came also the resurrection 
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive." This is commonly 
interpreted as if it represented the righteous and 
the wicked as rising without distinction at the 
same time. But is this really the doctrine of the 
Apostle ? Does he not, on the contrary, in this 
lucid argument, lay down the precise order in which 
this great work of the resurrection shall be accom- 
plished ? " In Christ all shall be made alive. But 
every man in his own order : Christ the first fruits; 
afterward they that are Christ's, at his coming. 
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered 
up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he 
shall have put down all rule, and all authority and 
power. For he must reign till he hath put all ene- 
mies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be 
destroyed is death."* 

Does not this three-fold resurrection of which St. 
Paul speaks-- first, "Christ the first fruits," secondly, 
" they that are Christ's, at his coming,— thirdly, 
the rest of the dead, at the time of " the end, when 

* 1 Cor. xv. 23-26. 

17 



186 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

he shall deliver up the kingdom to the Father," con- 
firm the doctrine which we have deduced from the 
text — that "the first resurrection" — oi' the saints — 
will be at the Lord's coming, in the commencement 
of the Millenium ; — and that of " the rest of the 
dead" — or the wicked, at its close — when the 
thousand years are ended ? Do you think that 
these different events are too nearly connected in the 
description, to be so widely separated in fact ? We 
remind you that more than eighteen hundred years 
have elapsed since "the first fruits" were raised in 
the person of Christ, and yet the harvest of the first 
resurrection has not taken place : where, then, is the 
incongruity of supposing that a period of a thousand 
years may elapse between the resurrection of the just 
and that of the wicked, at the last day ? 

The sentiment that the departed saints will be 
raised to live and reign with Christ a thousand years, 
so clearly inculcated in the text, is also confirmed 
(for we would not have it to rest upon one or two 
passages of Scripture ;) by the glowing description 
which St. Paul gives of the second coming of our 
Lord in his first Epistle to the Thessalonians. "I 
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- 
cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, 
even as others which have no hope. For if we be- 
lieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so them 
also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 187 

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, 
that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming 
of the Lord, shall not prevent {go before) them 
which are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Arch- 
angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and 
remain, shall be caught up together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ! and so shall we 
ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one 
another with these words."* 

0, what a sublime and glorious spectacle is here 
presented to our view ! How admirably are these 
words adapted to comfort us in reference to our de- 
parted Christian friends ! " We sorrow not as those 
who have n'o hope." Why ? We shall see them 
again. Not as poor afflicted children of mortality 
and suffering, such as we once knew them; — but 
heirs of blessedness, and glory, and immortality — 
shining above the brightness of the firmament, and 
as the stars forever and ever. When shall we thus 
behold them ? At the coming of the Lord. " For 
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the 
trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 
" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection : on such the second death shall have no 

* 1 Thess. iv. 13-18. 



1S8 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

power, but they shall live and reign with Christ.' 5 " 
When the departed children of God will thus start 
up from the abodes of death, clothed in their resur- 
rection bodies — pure — lustrous — immortal — what 
will become of the saints who shall be alive at the 
coming of the Lord ?* 

3. "Behold I show you a mystery: we shall not 
all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the 
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible, and we shall be changed. For this cor- 
ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal 
must put on immortality. Then shall be brought to 
pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed 
up in victory! death, where is thy sting? 
grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is 
sin, and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks be 
to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord 
Jesus Christ."! The change in the living saints 
will be tantamount to that which the resurrection 
will effect in the dead ones. It will be like that 

* The following- words of Justin Martyr will serve to show what 
was the belief of the early Christians on this point. " I, and any 
besides who are Christians of a right way of thinking- in all respects, 
know that there shall be both a resurrection of the flesh, and a thou- 
sand years in Jerusalem, built, and adorned, and enlarged, as the 
Prophets Ezekicl and Daniel, and the rest of them profess." Dial: 
p. 310, cited by Gbeswell. 

1 1 Cor. xv. 51-57. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 189 

which took place in the body of Jesus when he was 
transfigured upon Mount Tabor, so that his face 
shone like the sun, and his raiment became bright 
and glistering — " exceeding white as snow." Then 
we which are alive and- remain, shall be caught 
up with the living saints to meet the Lord in the 
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.* 

0, how high our blessedness — how unspeakable 
our rapture in that day — when we shall behold not 
merely Moses and Elias, — as Peter and John did on 
the holy mount,— but Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the Patriarchs, — the goodly fellowship of the 
Prophets, the glorious company of the Apostles, the 
noble army of Martyrs, the holy Church universal 
throughout all the world ! When we shall have 
" come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the 
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- 
merable company of angels, to the general assembly 
and Church of the first born which are written in 
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spi- 
rits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Medi- 
ator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprink- 
ling which speaketh better things than that of 
Abel !"t This is the great object of Christian hope 
and expectation — to share in the glories of our 
Lord's second coming — to receive "the grace that is 
to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus 

*1 Thess. iv. 18. fHeb. xii. 22-24. 

17* 



190 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

Christ." " In this tabernacle we groan, being bur- 
dened : not that we would be unclothed" (death is 
not the object of our desire ;) " but clothed upon 
with our house that is from heaven ; that mortality 
might be swallowed up of life."* " We know not 
what we shall be ; but we know that when He shall 
appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him 
as he is."t Let this blessed hope be our animating 
principle to quicken us to duty, and to comfort us 
in affliction ! Let " our conversation be in heaven ; 
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it 
may be made like unto his glorious body, according 
to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue 
all things unto himself.":}: 

4. Simultaneously with the resurrection of de- 
parted saints and the transformation of living ones, 
there shall be a Renovation of the Earth. St. 
Peter, speaking of this subject, says — " The day of 
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night ; in the 
which the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat: 
the earth also and the works that are therein shall 
be burnt up."|| Some would infer from this, the 
total destruction of the earth, and the annihilation of 

* 2 Cor. v. 4. 1 1 John, iii. 7. % Phil. iii. 20-21. 

|| 2 Peter, iii. 10— By "the heavens" and elements, the Apostle 
means, probably ,the atmosphere which surrounds the globe, called 
*< the lower heavens." 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 191 

all things it contains. But is this the doctrine of 
the Apostle ? On the contrary he compares the 
destruction of the world by fire at the last day, to 
its being destroyed by water in the days of Noah. 
The flood did not annihilate the earth, but only 
purified it by the ruin of a wicked generation. 
Even so, when the risen saints and the living trans- 
formed righteous shall be with the Lord in the air — 
in a place of safety, as Noah and his family were in 
the Ark, the fires may consume the wicked that 
will be alive — purge the earth of its uncleanness, — 
restore it to the original purity of Eden, — and thus 
render it a meet dominion for the throne of the 
Prince of Peace, and a suitable habitation for the 
saints. " We, according "to his promise," saith the 
Apostle ; " look for a new heavens and a new earth 
wherein dwelleth righteousness."* This is that 
blessed state of things of which Jesus spake to his 
Apostles : " Ye which have followed me. — in the 
regeneration, (or the formation of the new heavens 
and the new earth,) when the Son of Man shall sit 
upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."t 
These are not the words of a mere man, but of Him 
" whom the heavens have received until the times 
of restitution of all things which God hath spoken 

*2 Pet. iii. 13. fMatt.adx.28 



192 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the 
world began."* 

Then we shall be able to understand the true 
interpretation of a passage of Scripture which has 
puzzled the ingenuity of critics, and bid defiance to 
the skill and learning of commentators : " For I 
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation 
of the creature" (or the lower creation) "waiteth 
for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the 
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, 
but by reason of him who hath subjected the same 
in hope ; because the creature itself also shall be 
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God. For we 
know that the whole creation groaneth and travail- 
eth in pain together until now. And not only they, 
but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the 
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, 
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of 
our body."\ All creation, animate and inanimate, 
which was cursed for man's sake, shall then partici- 
pate the benefits of redemption. The Earth, ceas- 
ing to bring forth thorns and briars, shall be restored 
to the fertility and beauty of the Paradisiacal state, 
— and the animals, delivered from the suffering,. 

* Acts, iii. 21. f Rom. viii. 18-23. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 193 

and laying aside the ferociousness which were con- 
sequences of the fall, will live together in peace and 
harmony, as they did when assembled before Adam 
to receive their names from him. That is the peace- 
ful scene exhibited to the mind of Isaiah in prophet- 
ic vision, which he thus graphically foretells. "The 
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard 
shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and the 
young lion and the fatling together ; and a little 
child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear 
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; 
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the 
sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and 
the weaned child shall put his hand on the cocka- 
trice-den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all 
my holy mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the 



* Isaiah, xi. 6-9. 

This intepretation of the words quoted from Paul and Isaiah, 
many in our day will deem novel and visionary, but it was doubt- 
less the commonly received interpretation among- the early Fathers, 
as has been clearly proved by Mcde and others, in numerous quota- 
tions from their writings. It will be enough here to give the follow- 
ing as a sample of the views entertained by the early Church. Ire- 
nseus, who lived in the second century, speaks of " the times of the 
kingdom, when the just shall rise from the dead, and reign : when 
the creature (creation,) also, being made new and freed, shall pro- 
duce an abundance of every kind of food. . . . And that all animals, 
living on the kinds of food which are received from the ground, 
shall become peaceable, and one in harmony with another, being 



194 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

5. The renovated earth being thus prepared for 
its reception, the New Jerusalem will "come down 
from God out of heaven, as a bride adorned for her 
husband." The marriage of the Lamb will take 
place, for his bride hath made herself ready. Satan 
will be bound a thousand years, and cast into the 
bottomless pit. and sealed up so as not to deceive 
the nations any more till the thousand years are ful- 
filled. Then the victorious and glorified Redeemer, 
seated upon the throne of his glory, shall receive 
the homage of a ransomed world. He will be 
acknowledged and adored as King of Kings, and 
Lord of Lords. 

Our belief is that, during the period of the Mille- 
nial reign, there will be a difference between the 
converted Jewish nation and "the nations which 
walk in the light thereof." That Jerusalem will be 
" the city of the Great King" — the Metropolis of 
the Messiah's kingdom ; that the Holy Land will 
be especially favoured with his personal presence 
during the second as it was during his first advent. 
But we believe also that the light shall break forth 
from Zion to illuminate the world. "All kings 
shall fall down before him ; all nations shall do him 

subject to men with all subjection. Moreover, Papias also, an an- 
cient, who was a hearer of John, and a comrade of Polycarp, over 
and above, bears testimony to these things." Chap. v. 33, 453, 
cited by Greswell. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 195 

That every individual upon earth during 
the Millenium will be absolutely and perfectly holy, 
I know not that we are authorized to assert. On 
the contrary, it seems to be intimated that some 
will be liable to change and apostacy, from the com- 
motions that will take place, and the outbreak of 
Satan, at the end of the thousand years. We know 
not that this should seem strange to us, believing as 
we do, that the demons of darkness were once 
angels of light ; and that our first parents in Para- 
dise, though created in God ? s image, yielded to 
temptation, and became the vassals of sin. But 
piety and holiness will be predominant and trium- 
phant throughout that great day of the Lord. The 
Lord shall be king over all the earth. People of 
all tribes, and kindreds, and tongues shall offer him 
the tribute of ready homage and cheerful praise. 
" Holiness to the Lord shall be inscribed on the 
pots and vessels, and upon the very bells of the 
horses."* From every Island and Continent there 
will be heard songs — even glory to the righteous. 
The inhabitants of all countries will, with one voice, 
like the sound of many waters, unite in the loud 
acclaim — < Hallelujah ! the Lord God Omnipotent 
reigneth : the kingdoms of this world are become 
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he 
shall reign forever and ever !' 

*Zech. xiv. 20. 



196 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

! how delightful is it to reflect upon the glo- 
rious result of our Lord's second coming ! upon the 
peace, the holiness, the universal joy that will pre- 
vail in the Millenial period — that great Sabbath-day 
of the world ! Surely, every pious heart will pray 
" the Lord hasten it in his time ! Amen — even so 
— come Lord Jesus ! Yea, come quickly !" 

But there is still a sombre shade to be added to 
this picture. After a thousand years are ended, 
" Satan shall be loosed for a little season" and go 
forth to the four corners of the earth to gather those 
who have been deceived by him, to make war upon 
the saints and against the Holy city, and fire shall 
go forth from the Lord to consume them."* This is 
a dark and mysterious theme : one of those " deep 
things of the Spirit," which we profess not to fathom 
or explain. After that, the resurrection of the 
wicked will take place. The small and the great 
will stand before God. The earth and the sea shall 
give up their dead, and death and hell the dead that 
are therein, and all shall be judged according to 
their works. And whosoever is not found written 
in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire. 
The righteous will be admitted to the joy of their 
Lord — the place " prepared for them from the 
foundation of the world." They shall have their 

* Rev. xx. 7-15. 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 



197 



perfect consummation of bliss, both of body and 
soul, in God's everlasting and heavenly kingdom. 
But the wicked shall be cast into " the lake of fire 
prepared for the Devil and his angels, from whence 
the smoke of their torment shall ascend up for- 
ever and ever." " Then cometh the end. 3 ' The 
great drama of redemption will be completed. 
The Mediatorial kingdom of our Lord will cease. 
" He will deliver up the kingdom to the Father, 
that God" — the Tri-une Jehovah — " may be all in 
all."* 

In our next discourse we propose to consider some 
of the objections made to the doctrine of Christ's 
personal coming to reign on earth, and to show its 
important practical bearings upon the experience 
and lives of Christians. 

Friends and Brethren ! We have on this occa- 
sion offered some of the views we entertain in 
reference to one of the most sublime and glorious 
themes which the Holy Scriptures present to our 
contemplation. If these views be not in conformity 
to the instructions of his word, may God forgive 
our errors, and obliterate them from your memo- 
ries ! But with regard to the great fact that Jesus 
will come again, — that we shall behold him with 
our eyes, hear him with our ears, and receive from 

*1 Cor. xv. 24-28. 



18 



198 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT, 

him a doom to blessedness or wo, according to the 
deeds done in the body, — there is no room for a 
shadow of doubt. Whatever then, you may think 
of the particulars, let not the great general truth 
fail to produce its practical influence upon you. 
Do you ask — "When will Christ come?" We 
know not. But He will come " suddenly, as a 
thief in the night." "As the lightning shineth 
from the one part of heaven to the other, so shall the 
coming of the Son of Man be." In an unexpected 
hour the last trumpet will sound, and break up the 
slumbers and the pleasures of a guilty world ! Be 
ye then ever ready, for in such an hour as ye 
think not the Son of Man cometh. " What I say 
unto you, I say unto all : Watch !" 

As John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way 
for Christ's first coming, so the Church, by her 
instructions, warnings, prayers, ordinances, and 
Missionary labours, is preparing the way for his 
second advent. Are we, fellow Christians, — faith- 
fully doing our part ? Do we labour for the con- 
version of sinners and the edification of the Church? 
Do we feel a deep interest in the cause of Missions, 
and freely cast our offerings into the treasury of 
the Lord ? Do we fervently pray " Thy king- 
dom come?" Ah! soon our Master will come 
and soy, — " Give an account of thy stewardship !" 



THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 



199 



" What manner of persons ought we to be in 
all holy conversation and godliness ; looking for 
and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
God!"* 

"If the righteous scarcely be saved, lohere shall 
the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Ah! 
what a note of warning does this doctrine of the 
second advent ring in the ears of the impenitent • 
In what tones of seven-fold thunder does it say 
to them " Flee from the wrath to come !" ! 
when Jesus comes again, he will " be revealed from 
heaven in naming fire, taking vengeance upon them 
that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." Repent speedily, and bow 
to the sceptre of his grace, or you will be of the 
miserable number to whom he will say — " Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared 
for the Devil and his angels." 

Have we, my brethren, embraced the benefits 
which Christ brought at his first Advent ? Do 
we believe on him with the heart unto righteous- 
ness ? Are we yielding him cheerful and affec- 
tionate obedience ? If so : we may look forward 
without dread to his second Advent. And should 
we now see him coming in the clouds, we might 
lift up our heads with joy, and exclaim : " Lo ! 



*2 Pet. iii. 11, 12. 



200 THE MILLENIUM AND JUDGMENT. 

this is our God ; we have waited for him, and 
he will save us : this is the Lord ; we have waited 
for him ; we will be glad and rejoice in his salva- 
tion."* 

* Isaiah, xxv. 9. 



LECTURE EIGHTH. 



THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED : 

OBJECTIONS answered: PRACTICAL BEARING OF 

THE DOCTRINE. 



St. Matthew, Chapter xxiv, Verse 44. 
" Therefore, be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think 
not, the Son of man cometh." 

It was not without fear and trembling that we 
presumed to enter upon that course of meditation 
and inquiry which has occupied our Sunday even- 
ings for the last two months, and has embraced 
some of the most important and interesting points 
that can attract the attention of the human mind — or 
are presented in the whole circle of Biblical Theol- 
ogy. By the blessing of God, the task proposed at 
the beginning has been accomplished. With much 
weakness and imperfection, it is true, — but still 
18* 



202 THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED. 

according to the humble degree of knowledge with 
which we have been favoured — with a sincere desire 
not to go beyond the word of the Lord to declare 
less or more — we have endeavoured to ascertain what 
the Holy Scriptures really teach us respecting those 
sublime themes connected with the second coming 
of our Lord and Saviour — our King and Judge — 
Jesus Christ. 

We might have given a much more extended 
course of Lectures upon this interesting topic, — but 
that every thing which may be considered as per- 
taining to the romance or poetry of the subject has 
been purposely avoided. We have imposed restric- 
tions upon the imaginative powers ; — and while pass- 
ing over, with very slight notice, the symbolical and 
figurative portions of prophecy, have not attempted 
to discuss the chronological prophecies at all. 
Whatever our private opinion with regard to the 
chronology of prophecy may be — the subject is in- 
volved in too much uncertainty and perplexity to 
be made a profitable subject of popular instruction; — 
and all positiveness and dogmatism, in this depart- 
ment of prophetical interpretation, should be sup- 
pressed by the awful terms in which our Lord de- 
clares the suddenness and uncertainty of the time of 
his advent. " The times and the seasons hath the 
Father put in his own power: of that day and hour 



THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED. 



203 



knoweth no man ; no ; not the angels of heaven : but 
my Father only.''"* 

It would have been no difficult matter to have en- 
tertained you with the nice and plausible calculations 
which some have made as to the precise year of our 
Lord's advent — calculations professedly founded 
upon those chronological prophecies of Daniel which 
Mede calls God's Almanack. We might also have 
laid before you the curious speculations and inge- 
nious conjectures in which some writers have in- 
dulged with regard to the minutiae of the Millenial 
kingdom of Christ and his saints upon earth. We 
have not aimed, however, at entertainment, but in- 
struction. We would rather disappoint than gratify 
the wishes of those who indulge a spirit of specula- 
tion and conjecture in reference to the deep and all 
important truths of revealed religion. It is a spirit 
that should stand rebuked in the presence of so awful 
a theme. 

The great object of this course of Lectures has 
been merely to give a sketch or outline of what 
the Scriptures clearly and unequivocally teach — or 
what in our humble judgment we believe them to 
teach — relating to the great point which has been 
the subject of our inquiry. We have aimed, not to 
gratify curiosity, — but, to encourage investigation. 
One leading end in view will be attained, if you, 

* Matt. xxiv. 36. 



204 THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED. 

are stimulated to prosecute the inquiry, by the care- 
ful study of the Bible, in your closets and on your 
knees, before God. You may not be convinced of 
the truth of all the views which have been presented 
— but the discussion of the subject cannot fail to be 
attended with a blessing, if it shall lead you to test 
the soundness of these views by the infallible touch- 
stone of God's word, — and, like the noble Bereans, 
" search the Scriptures daily, to ascertain whether 
these things are so." 

The doctrine which we have attempted to esta- 
blish is, that, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, forty days 
after his resurrection visibly ascended from the 
Mount of Olives, and, in the presence of his won- 
dering disciples, went up towards heaven till a cloud 
received him out of their sight ; — who was seen, by 
the martyr Stephen, standing at the right hand of 
God — "shall so come again" — visibly and person- 
ally — as the Son of Man — in the clouds — " in like 
manner as He was seen to go into heaven." We 
have called your attention to those apostacies in the 
Church, and those false systems of religion which 
have arisen without the Church, — to the revolutions 
and commotions in the governments and kingdoms 
of this world, — to the scenes of superstition — perse- 
cution — heresy and schism ; — to the outbreaks of infi- 
delity, violence, lawlessness and disorder — which the 
Scriptures speak of as antecedents and signs of his 



THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED, 



205 



eoming. — We have shown you that the mixed moral 
aspect of the character of the world— indicates the ri- 
pening of the final harvest, when multitudes of con- 
verted souls will be gathered as wheat into the Lord's 
granary — and multitudes of the wicked will be, like 
chaff, cast into unquenchable fire. We have endea- 
vored to prove that the popular opinion about a Spi- 
ritual Millenium before the coming of Christ, during 
which the Gospel will universally prevail — and the 
Holy Spirit reign in the hearts of a converted gene- 
ration — does not rest on the stable ground of Scrip- 
tural authority. But, on the contrary, that the uni- 
versal prevalence of peace and holiness, of which 
the prophets speak in such animated strains, will be 
the consequence — and not the antecedent of our 
Lord's personal coming. When He cometh, "the 
Jews will be brought in together with the fulness of 
the Gentiles ;" — The Man of sin, and all Antichris- 
tian powers will be destroyed : — ungodly nations, 
and wicked men who may be alive, will be over- 
whelmed with sudden and " everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of 
his power;" — but at the same time, "he will come to 
be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all 
them that believe." We have attempted to prove 
that his coming to judge the world — and his coming 
to establish his kingdom — is the same, and the only 
manifestation of himself in his glory, and the glory 



206 THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED. 

of his Father, with his holy angels — which we are 
taught to expect. That the great day — the day of 
the Lord — or the day of judgment is that of which 
St. Peter speaks when he says " one day is with the 
Lord as a thousand years; and a thousand years as 
one day." That great last day — will be ushered in 
with awful solemnity and glory. For "the Lord him- 
self will descend from heaven with a shout — with the 
voice of the Archangel and the trump of God, — and 
the dead in Christ shall rise first." In the morning 
of that day the departed Martyrs and Saints shall 
come out of their graves, clothed with their celes- 
tial, immortal bodies — shining in the splendor of 
purity and bliss. " This is the first resurrection" — 
the hope of which stimulated the zeal, self-denial, 
and devotion of the early Christians — and kindled 
in the bosoms of many an ardent desire for martyr- 
dom. Then, they which are alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord — shall be changed — in a 
moment — in the twinkling of an eye — their bodies 
will be transformed into the likeness of Christ's 
glorious body. While they are with the Lord in 
the air, the earth will be renewed and purified: being 
restored to its Paradisiacal state, it will be meet for 
the kingdom of Christ — and a suitable habitation for 
his Redeemed. Then the New Jerusalem will come 
down from God out of heaven as a bride adorned for 
her husband. Jesus, the glorified one — the object 



THE DOCTRINE REVIEWED. 



201 



to which every eye is directed and every heart 
drawn — shall be seated upon the throne of his glory 
— and the saints shall live and reign with him for a 
thousand years : — " His dominion shall extend from 
sea to sea — and from the river even unto the ends of 
the earth/' ! what tongue can describe — what 
imagination conceive the peace, — the purity, — the 
blessedness of that great Sabbath day of the world ! 
! may we have our part in the first resurrection ! 
May our lot be in the kingdom of the saints ! 

The views in relation to our Lord's second 
coming, of which we have now given a brief epi- 
tome, we do not present as matters of faith neces- 
sary to salvation. No. We enforce no doctrines 
having this high claim, except those contained in 
the two Creeds held by the Holy Catholic Church in 
all countries and in all ages. We merely present 
these views as being, in our opinion, a sound and 
scriptural exposition of that article in which we pro- 
fess to believe that " Jesus Christ shall come again to 
judge the quick and the dead ; whose kingdom shall 
have no end." In the creed the judgment and the 
kingdom of Christ are connected as we believe them 
to be in the Scriptures. 

This doctrine of the second Advent of Christ to 
rule and judge the world we teach, not as a mere 
theological dogma : — we scorn to consider it, as many 
do, a point of mere theoretical speculation. It is 



208 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

never so represented in the Holy Scriptures ; — but 
always as a point of thrilling interest — of spiritual 
power — and of the deepest practical importance to 
the souls of men. In that light we wish to present 
it to your consideration now, — and with that view, 
have selected the words of the Text. " Therefore 
be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye think 
not, the Son of Man cometh." 

Before entering upon the practical bearing of this 
theme upon the experience and life of the Christian, 
we proceed, as was proposed, to notice some of the 
most prominent objections to the doctrine of the 
personal advent and reign of Jesus Christ upon 
earth. 

1. There are some who rashly condemn this 
doctrine, and refuse even to give it a patient and 
candid examination, because of the false, carnal, 
and extravagant views that have been entertained 
by some of its advocates in different ages of the 
Church. 

We are by no means disposed to question that 
some of the early Chiliasts or Millenarians, enter- 
tained very gross and worldly views of the nature 
of the Messiah's kingdom : We are far from wish- 
ing to defend or justify the impieties and abomina- 
tions of the Anabaptists in Germany, about the time 
of the Reformation, or of the Fifth-monarchy men in 
the days of Cromwell : nor would we undertake to 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



209 



apologize for the bold speculations and visionary 
theories of certain weak, and perhaps deranged, men 
who set themselves up as the advocates of the per- 
sonal reign, in our day. But we say that the doc- 
trine itself is in no wise responsible for the follies, 
errors, or sins of any of its professed supporters and 
friends. The most valuable doctrines are liable to 
the greatest abuses : and the subtle deceiver of 
mankind is ever ready to employ human weakness 
and corruption in giving false views of important 
principles, that the principles themselves may be 
involved in the odium, and sunk into desuetude and 
contempt. 

From the abuse of a thing we can draw no argu- 
ment against its use. What doctrine of our holy 
religion is there which has not been corrupted and 
perverted by the folly and wickedness of men ? 
Shall we deny the doctrine of Christ's infinite and 
all-sufficient atonement — because some men deduce 
from it the soul-destroying error of Universalism ? 
Because the doctrine of spiritual influence is per- 
verted to maintain the folly and madness of fanati- 
cism, must we, therefore, deny the agency of the 
Holy Spirit in the conversion and sanctification of 
souls ? Because the Church of Rome has invented 
seven Sacraments, and converted them into charms, 
shall we, therefore, deny the usefulness and obliga- 
tion of those two Sacraments which Christ has 
19 



210 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

ordained in his Church ? Because some men per- 
vert the Holy Scriptures to their own destruction, 
shall we, therefore, deny the inspiration of the Bible 
— or question its high importance and utility as the 
infallible standard of truth — our sure guide in faith 
and duty ? If then, the abuse of Christianity and 
the perversion of some of its most important doc- 
trines and usages, afford no argument against their 
truth or value, — we contend that the follies and 
errors which some men have engrafted on the doc- . 
trine of Christ's second coming should not be per- 
mitted to throw upon the doctrine itself the slight- 
est shadow of suspicion or reproach. Our only in- 
quiry should be — is it taught in the Bible ? Is it 
clearly revealed ? If so, it is entitled not only to our 
respectful consideration, but to our implicit faith. 

2. To many the views which have been presented 
in this course of Lectures have the air of novelty. 
They will say — " You bring new and strange things 
to our ears, — and we cannot admit this unheard of 
doctrine, without pronouncing the Christian world 
to have been in error, from the beginning, upon the 
fundamental doctrine of our Lord's second advent." 
If this objection were founded, it would be fatal to 
our doctrine. We are no advocates for novelties in 
religion — and would unhesitatingly reject any prin- 
ciple which is not clearly taught in the Holy Scrip- 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



211 



lures, and which has been unknown in the Church 
of Christ from the beginning. 

But is it a novel doctrine ? We, of course, 
do not admit it. We have attempted to prove, 
with what success others must decide, — that it was 
taught by the Prophets, by the Apostles, by our 
Lord Jesus Christ himself. We might, if our time 
admitted, show you, by quotations from Justin 
Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullicm, Lactantius, and 
others of the early Fathers, that it was received as 
the true interpretation of the prophecies in the 
earliest ages of the Church subsequent to the times 
of the Apostles.* In common with many other 

*The early prevalence of this doctrine has been shown by 
quotations from the Fathers in notes to Lectures 2d and 7th, pages 
29, 188, 193. That such was the general belief of Christians in primi- 
tive times, that they were habitually looking- for the coming- of the 
Lord,and gave such a literal interpretation to the Scriptures that they 
looked for him to appear at midnight— because he rose in the night, 
and came upon the Egyptians at night at the time of the Passover — 
and because it is written " at midnight the cry was made y Behold 
the Bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him :" is clearly shown 
by the following passage in Bingham— relating to the usages of the 
Church at Easter. " Of the vigil between the great Sabbath and 
Easter-day, frequent mention is made in the ancient writers, Chry- 
sostom, Epiphanius, Palladius, Gregory Nyssen, and many others. 
Particularly Lactantius and St. Jerome tell us, that they observed 
it on a double account. ' This is the night,' says Lactantius. 'which 
we observe with a pernoctation or watching all night/or the advent 
of our King and God: of which there is a two-fold reason to be given; 
because on this night our Lord was raised to life again after his pas- 
sion, and in the same time he is expected to return to receive ifu 



212 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

truths it fell into neglect and obscurity beneath that 
cloud of darkness and ignorance that overspread the 
Church, with a constantly thickening gloom, from 
the fourth to the sixteenth centuries. And although 
the attention of the Reformers was mainly directed 
to the abolishing of gross abuses and corruptions, 
and to the revival of the doctrine of justification by 
faith, and other principles of fundamental import- 
ance in the Christian system, yet there was, to some 
extent, a restoration of Scriptural and primitive views 
respecting the coming and kingdom of our Lord. In 
King Edivard the Sixth's Catechism we find the 
following instruction. Master. u The end of the 
world, Holy Scripture calleth the fulfilling and per- 
formance of the kingdom and mystery of Christ, 
and the renewing of all things. For says the Apos- 
tle Peter (2 Pet. 3.) 'We look for a new heavens 
and a new earth according to the promise of God, 
wherein dwelleth righteousness.' And it seemeth 
reason that corruption, unsteadfast change, and sin, 
whereunto the whole world is subject, should at 
length have an end. Now by what way and what 
fashion of circumstances these things shall come to 

kingdom of this world, that is, to come to judgment." St. Jerome says 
ft it was a tradition among- the Jews, that Christ would come at mid- 
night, as he did upon the Egyptians at the time of the Passover; 
and thence, he thinks, the Apostolical custom came, not to dismiss 
the people on the paschal vigil before midnight, expecting the coming 
of Christ." 
Antiquities of the Christian Church, Book xxi. Chap. 1. Sect. 32. 






OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



213 



pass, I would fain hear thee tell ? Scholar, " I will 
tell you as well as I can according to the witness of 
the same Apostle: 'The heavens shall pass away like 
a storm : the elements shall melt away : the earth 
and all the works therein shall be consumed with 
fire :' as though he would say, as gold is wont to be 
fined 5 so shall the whole world be purified with 
fire, and be brought to his full perfection. The 
lesser world, which is man, following the same, shall 
likewise be delivered from corruption and change. 
And so, for man, this greater world (which for his 
sake was first created :) shall at length be renewed ; 
and be clad with another hue, much more pleasant 
and beautiful." 

Again we find the following remarks upon the se- 
cond petition in the Lord's Prayer, " Thy kingdom 
come." "We see not yet all things in subjection to 
Christ. We see not the stone hewn off from the 
mountain without work of man, which altogether 
bruised and brought to nought the image which 
Daniel describeth ; that the only Rock, Christ, may 
obtain and possess the dominion of the ivhole 
world, granted him of his Father. Antichrist is 
not yet slain. For this cause do we long and pray, 
that it may at length come to pass and be fulfilled, 
that Christ may reign ivith his saints, according 
to God's promises : that He may live and be Lord 
in the world, according to the decrees of the holy 
16* 






214 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

Gospel : — God grant his kingdom may come — and 
that speedily!"* 

The views of the Reformers on this point may 
also be inferred from one or two sentences occur- 
ring in the Collects of the Prayer Book. In the 
Burial service of the Church of England — the offi- 
ciating Minister prays that 'it may please God of 
his gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the 
number of his elect, and to hasten his kingdom, P 
The like idea of the connexion between Christ's 
coming and kingdom seems to be conveyed in our 
Collect for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, 
u grant us, we beseech thee, that having this hope, 
we may purify ourselves, even as He (Christ) is 

* King- Edward the Sixth's Catechism ; pp. 361, 362, 374 : in Fa- 
thers of the English Church. 

Should it be objected that these extracts from King Edward's 
Catechism are irreconcilable with thc41stof the Articles of Religion 
adopted in the reign of that godly king;— our answer is that the de- 
sign of the article was to condemn, not the doctrine of the personal 
coming and reign of Christ, rightly understood,— but, only, as the 
words import, the carnal and fabulous views which some of the Millc- 
narii had engrafted upon it. 7'he Catechism was set forth a year 
later than the Articles ; and as it was the last work of the Reformers 
in that reign, " it may fairly be understood to contain," says Dr. 
Randolph, Bishop of Bangor, " as far as it goes, their ultimate de- 
cision, and to represent the sense of the Church of England, as then 
established " In this, according to Archbishop Wake, the complete 
model of our Church Catechism was first laid ; and it was in some 
measure a public work: the examination of it having been committed 
Cas the injunction testifies,) to certain Bishops, and othsr learned 
men ; after which it waa published by the King's authority. 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



215 



pure; that when He shall appear again, with 
power and great glory, we may be made like unto 
him in his eternal and glorious kingdom!" 

If then, the doctrine of Christ's second coming 
to establish his kingdom and judge the world be 
recognized in the services and instructions of the 
Reformed Church — if it was held by many of the 
Fathers in the first four centuries — and above all, if 
it may be fairly deduced from the writings of the 
Prophets in the Old Testament and of the Apostles 
in the New, we cannot be deterred from embracing 
it by any allegation of its novelty, made by those 
who are misled by the popular theory and have 
never entered upon a calm and thorough investigation 
of the subject. 

The fact is, that the commonly received opinion 
of a Spiritual Millenium — consisting in a universal 
triumph of the Gospel and conversion of all nations 
for a thousand years before the coming of Christ — 
is a novel doctrine, unknown to the Church for the 
space of sixteen hundred years. So far as we have 
been able to investigate its history, it was first ad- 
vanced by the Rev. Dr. W hitb y, the commentator, 
and afterwards advocated by Hammond, Hopkins, 
Scott, Dwight, Bogue and others — and has been re- 
ceived, without careful examination, by the majority 
of evangelical divines in the present day. But we 
may safely challenge its advocates to produce one 



216 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

distinguished writer in its favour who lived before 
the commencement of the eighteenth century. If 
antiquity is to be considered as any test of truth, the 
advocates of the premillenial advent and personal 
reign of Christ with his saints upon earth, need have 
no fears of the result of a comparison of authorities 
with the supporters of the opposite theory. 

3. But after all that has been or may be said in 
favour of the doctrine;— after all the arguments which 
reason, antiquity, authority, and revelation may fur- 
nish in its support, we may be met with subtle and 
ingenious questions which cannot be satisfactorily 
answered, and many will reject the doctrine be- 
cause it is attended with difficulties. 

Vain and proud man would be wiser than God, 
and will sometimes reject revealed truths, because 
he cannot explain the 'why?' arfd the ( wherefore?' 
because he cannot thoroughly comprehend and de- 
monstrate the philosophy of them. Bishop Newton 
says "folly may ask more questions than wisdom 
can answer." Where demonstration commences, 
faith ends. If, adopting the rationalistic theory, we 
resolve to believe nothing which we cannot fully 
comprehend and explain, the consequence will be 
that we shall be Sadducees,— having no faith in any 
thing that relates to religion or the spiritual world. 
Where is the principle of faith or the doctrine of 
religion that is entirely free from difficulties in the 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



217 



view of a finite mind ? We doubt not the Being of 
a God ; but can we comprehend or explain the nature 
and attributes of a self-existent — infinite — eternal 
first cause of all things ? We believe the Godhead 
to be a Trinity in Unity : but can we explain or de- 
monstrate, upon principles of philosophy and reason, 
— how this distinction of Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost — exists — without inferiority or dependence — 
without confusion of persons, or difference of na- 
ture ? We think that these bodies of ours are ten- 
anted by immortal spirits which we call souls : but 
can we explain the philosophy of the union — or the 
mode by which, without any confusion of properties, 
they mutually exist and reciprocally act upon each 
other ? We believe that the Son of the Highest took 
our nature upon him — that God was manifest in the 
flesh for our redemption : but who can solve the 
mystery of the Incarnation ? Surely the second com- 
ing of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom and 
judge the world is attended with fewer difficulties 
than those high mysteries of our religion to which 
we have now adverted ; and if we receive the latter 
notwithstanding the difficulties which attend them — 
we cannot consistently reject the former because 
the ingenuity of its skilful opponents may show that 
there are some points connected with it which " are 
hard to be understood." The system which spiri- 
tualizes the plainest prophecies — gives them a meta- 



218 PRACTICAL BEARING 

phorical and mystical interpretation — and offers us 
as a substitute for the personal reign of Christ with 
his saints upon earth— the invisible dominion of his 
grace in their hearts, is surely liable to graver objec- 
tions, involved in more perplexing difficulties, — and 
imposes a much heavier tax upon our credulity, 
than the system for which we have contended in 
this course of Lectures. 

But the truth of either system must rest, not upon 
human judgment — but, on divine authority. We 
make our appeal " to the law and the testimony." We 
exhort you to " search the Scriptures/' and bring the 
views presented to the test by that infallible ordeal. 
If they be not according to this, there is no light in 
them. But if they abide the trial by God's word, 
then all the cavils and objections which human wit 
and ingenuity may suggest, will be futile and vain. 
For " heaven and earth may pass away, but one jot 
or tittle of his word shall never fail." 

II. Having thus noticed the most prominent ob- 
jections to the views we have presented respecting 
the great day of Christ's appearing and kingdom, 
we shall devote the remainder of this discourse to 
a notice of their great practical importance. 

What frequent references do the inspired writers 
make to this sublime and awakening theme? How 
considerable a portion of the New Testament is de- 
voted to it ? It occupies a much larger space here 



OP THE DOCTRINE. 



219 



than it does in the instructions of Christian ministers 
and the meditations of Christian people. The Chap- 
ter from whence our text is taken and the following 
one are exclusively devoted to this momentous topic. 
The reading of abrief portion will show what unspeak- 
able importance was attached to it in the instructions 
of our Lord himself. "And they shall see the Son of 
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 
great glory. And he shall send his angels with a 
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his 
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven 
to the other." — " But of that day and hour knoweth 
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father 
only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also 
the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the 
days that were before the flood they were eating 
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, 
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and 
knew not until the flood came and took them all 
away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man 
be. — But know this that if the good man of the 
house had known in what watch the thief would 
come, he would have watched, and not have suffered 
his house to be broken up. — Therefore be ye also 
ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son 
of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise 
servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his 
household, to give them meat in due season ? 



220 PRACTICAL BEARIMG 

Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he 
cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you 
that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 
My Lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to 
smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with 
the drunken ; the Lord of that servant shall come in a 
day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that 
he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and 
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 7 * 

This quotation may serve as a specimen of the 
high practical importance attached to the doctrine 
of the second advent by Christ and his Apostles. 
As an incentive to repentance and holiness to sin- 
ners — as a motive for watchfulness, prayer, zeal, 
and diligence on the part of Christian Ministers and 
people, more prominence is given to it in the pages 
of the New Testament than to any other. The 
Apostles never failed to give point and pungency to 
their warnings and exhortations by solemn reference 
to the certainty and suddenness of the Lord's 
coming. Would Paul make guilty Felix trem- 
ble ? He reasoned with him of judgment to come. 
Would the same Apostle rouse sinners from careless 
security and incite them to flee from the wrath to 
come? He reminded them that the Lord Jesus 

St. Matt. xxiv. 29. 51. 



OP THE DOCTRINE. 



221 



would be " revealed from heaven in naming fire — 
taking vengeance upon those who know not God 
and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."* 
Would the same Apostle exhort believers to adorn 
the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things ? 
The same doctrine furnishes the motive : — " Look- 
ing for that blessed hope — and the glorious appear- 
ing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ."! 
Does he look forward to the eternal results of his 
ministry in the salvation of many souls — how did 
he express himself? "What is our hope, or joy, or 
crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the pre- 
sence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ?% 
Did he fervently pray that his fellow Christians might 
increase in faith and abound in love ? It was to 
the end that their hearts might be established " un- 
blamable in holiness before God, even our Father, 
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his 
saints." || Did the Apostle calmly look forward to 
his own " crown of righteousness?" — he spake of it as 
one which the Lord would give not only to him, 
" but to all them also that love his app earing. "§ 
Would St. John exhort Christians to fidelity and 
steadfastness? what other motive does he present 
than this ? " Now little children abide in him, that 
when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and 



* 2 Thess. i. 7-8. 

|| 1 Thess. iii. 
20 



t Titus, ii. 13. 



13. 



$ 1 Thess. ii. 19. 
§2 Tim. iv. 8. 



222 PRACTICAL BEARING 

not be ashamed before him at his coming"* 
" He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself 
even as he (Christ) is pure. For it doth not yet ap- 
pear what we shall be ; but we know that when he 
shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is."t Would St. Peter encourage suffering 
Christians to fortitude and patience under persecu- 
tion, what motive does he employ ? " That the 
trial of your faith being much more precious than 
that of gold which perisheth, though it be tried 
with fire, might be found to praise, and honour, and 
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." "Where- 
fore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope 
to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto 
you at the Revelation of Jesus Christ."± Would 
the same Apostle rebuke the impious spirit of the 
scoffers who inquire, " Where is the promise of his 
coming ?" He says " the Lord is not slack con- 
cerning his promises as some men count slackness—- 
but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repent- 
ance. But the day of the Lord so cometh as a 
thief in the night "\\ 

But the time would fail me to quote all the pas- 
sages which serve to show that the inspired writers 
treat of this doctrine of the Lord's second coming as 
one of the last importance, and of most powerful 

* 1 John, iii. 28. f 1 John, iii. 2. 1 1 Pet. i. 7-13. || 2 Pet. iii 9-16. 



OF THE DOCTRINE. 



223 



influence upon experience and practice. How often 
do they employ it as a constraining motive to holi- 
ness ! How often do they exclaim, in trumpet 
tones, " The Lord is at hand! Behold the judge 
standeth at the door ! The coming of the Lord 
draweth nigh !" This truth was ever present to 
their own minds, to incite them to faithfulness. 
They constantly presented it to the minds of their 
hearers and readers, to lead them to repentance and 
the service of God. Would we have a revival of 
primitive piety and zeal ? Would we behold the 
word of the Lord glorified in our day, as it was in 
the days of the Apostles, by the conversion of sin- 
ners, and the holy, benevolent lives of believers ? 
There must be a revival in this respect, as in others, 
of Apostolic doctrine and usage. The doctrine of 
our Lord's second coming must occupy more atten- 
tion in the preaching of his ministers : it must take 
a stronger hold upon the understandings and the 
hearts of his people. This doctrine must be held up 
to view, boldly and prominently, as it w T as in the 
preaching and writings of the Apostles ; — and when 
duly believed, it would produce the same effect now 
that it did in their day. It is by faith in the doc- 
trine of Christ's atonement that we obtain peace and 
pardon ; it is by faith in the doctrine of the indwell- 
ing of the Holy Spirit that we enjoy that unspeaka- 
ble blessing; even so by faith in the doctrine of 
Christ's Second Advent we become prepared for 



224 PRACTICAL BEARING. 

his coming. As the great object of the Mosaic 
economy and the ministry of John the Baptist was 
to prepare the way of the Lord at his first coming ; 
so the great end of the Christian Church and all its 
institutions and ordinances — of the Gospel ministry, 
in all its labours, and exhortations, and prayers is, 
to prepare for the great day of our Lord's second 
appearing and kingdom. What mind, then, can 
conceive the great practical importance of that doc- 
trine with which all the means of grace are so inti- 
mately connected?— from which the warnings and ex- 
hortations of the Gospel derive their most animating 
motive, and their most efficient power ? The great 
object of our ministry, brethren, is not to make you 
useful and happy in this life, and prepare you for 
peace in death. No : valuable and important as 
these ends are, the ultimate and great end is, that 
you may be prepared for the coining of the Lord. 
The great burden of our preaching should be this : 
" Be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye 
think not 9 the Son of Man cometh." 

III. Are we ready ? This is the "sum of the 
whole matter. This the all-important, searching 
inquiry which I would address to your consciences 
and hearts in the conclusion of this course of Lec- 
tures. 

If you are not ready for the Lord's coming, 
(which may take place at any moment,) no matter 



OF THE DOCTRINE. 



225 



how wise, amiable, moral, or externally devout you 
may be — you can have no part or lot in the king- 
dom of God. We see some here who are en- 
grossed by the cares and immersed in the business of 
the world — thoroughly imbued with the spirit of ac- 
cumulation — intent upon adding house to house, and 
field to field — but neglecting the "one thing need- 
ful ;" — never aspiring to a better inheritance than 
this world can offer, and making no efforts to " seek 
the kingdom of God and his righteousness." Are 
you ready for the coming of the Lord ? No more 
than were the rich and proud antediluvians for 
their fate, who heard with listless unbelief the warn- 
ings of Noah, and continued to prosecute their cove- 
tous schemes ; gazing, with proud satisfaction, upon 
their fertile fields and their sumptuous dwelling-places 
— till those fair domains were submerged — those 
splendid habitations overwhelmed by the deluge, 
and themselves buried in the ruins. We behold 
others here who are " lovers of pleasure more than 
lovers of God" — who spend their days in indolence, 
and their nights in the voluptuous enjoyments of the 
dance or the theatre ; — the sparkling wine-cup is 
often at their lips : the sound of the viol and the tabret 
and the harp is in their feasts : but they regard not 
the works of the Lord, nor consider the operations of 
his hands. Are you ready ? Alas ! no more than 
were those thoughtless ones who scorned Noah, the 



226 PRACTICAL BEARING 

preacher of righteousness, — who ate and drank, mar- 
ried and were given in marriage, — till their scenes of 
revelry and pleasure were surrounded by the rising 
surges of the flood, and the sounds of their mirth 
were drowned in the mighty waters. There are 
others still who arise to view, — not criminally world- 
ly or sensual, but stupid and indifferent as to the con- 
cerns of religion. They neglect the ordinances of 
Christ's Church, and make no public and solemn 
profession of faith in the Saviour of the world. Ah, 
what are the words of the Master himself with re- 
spect to non-professors ? " Whosoever denieth me 
before men, him will I also deny before my Father 
and his angels." " Those mine enemies, who 
would not that 1 should reign over them, bring 
hither and slay them before me!" But there are yet 
others, who name the name of Christ — profess his 
faith, and outwardly conform to the institutions of 
his Church, but their hearts are not right with God : 
— they rely upon^ Christian privileges without the 
Christian life ; — they have a form of godliness but 
deny the power thereof; — they are like the foolish 
virgins, with lamps of profession, but without oil. 
Are you ready ? Alas ! " when the Master of the 
house has risen up and shut to the door, and ye begin 
to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open unto us : Then shall ye begin to 
gay, — We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, 



OF THE DOCTRINE. 



227 



and thou hast taught in our streets. But He shall 
say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are 
— depart from me ye workers of iniquity."* 

! what an awful alarm — does this doctrine ring 
in the ears of the unconverted ! The time is short 
Soon the cry will be made, " Behold He cometh 
in the clouds !" " Seek ye the Lord while he 
may be found : call ye upon him while he is near." 

" Ye sinners seek his grace, 
Whose wrath ye cannot bear : 
Fly to the shelter of his cross, 
And find salvation there. 

" So shall that curse remove, 
By which the Saviour bled ; 
And the last awful day shall pour 
His blessings on your head." 

Christian friends and brethren ! This doctrine 
is of the highest practical importance to you. Are 
you ready ? As penitent believing followers of Jesus, 
you have an habitual preparation for the Lord's 
coming. But you should also endeavour to keep 
yourselves in a state of actual preparation, from 
day to day, by cultivating the graces and perform- 
ing the duties which become those who wait for the 
coming of their Lord. Our Lord has gone from us 
with a promise that he will return. We must, there- 
fore, cultivate watchfulness and prayer. " Watch 
and pray," is his command, " for ye know not when 
* St. Luke, xiii. 25-27. 



228 PRACTICAL BEARING OF THE DOCTRINE. 



the Son of Man cometh." He has entrusted talents 
to our care, accompanied with the charge, " Occupy 
till I come V We must, therefore, improve our 
time and talents to the utmost in doing our Master's 
will. We must cultivate all the habits of personal 
holiness, seeking to grow in grace and in the know- 
ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. — We 
must constantly press onward toward the mark for 
the prize of our high calling. We must labour for 
the good of souls, the edification of the Church, and 
the spread of the Gospel, and ply every effort which 
may prepare the way for the coming and kingdom 
of our Lord : So that when he comes to reckon 
with his servants, he may find our talents increased 
ten-fold, and we may be prepared to render our 
account with joy and not with grief. He has left 
us a charge, during his absence, to shine as lights in 
the world — so that others, seeing our good works, 
may glorify our Father who is in heaven. Let us 
then, stand upon our watch-towers, " looking for 
and hasting unto the coming of the day of God !" 
"Let our loins be girded about, and our lamps 
trimmed and burning : and we ourselves, like unto 
those who wait for the coming of the Lord : Blessed 
are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh 
shall find so doing !" 

FINIS. 



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